We are so hard on ourselves as parents and especially so when our children are vulnerable or suffering, Cathy made us feel like we were doing a good job, and gave us the skills and confidence to work through it with our daughter.
Parent Support Client
Parent Support
As a parent, working with Cathy was hugely beneficial for our family and for me as an individual. Cathy was very non-judgemental and approached every concern or issue I needed to address with competence, insight and empathy. She has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the area of child development and therapy – both theoretical and practical. I was amazed by her ability to support me (and ultimately my child) by suggesting very practical, manageable steps and providing any resources I needed to help me to implement them.
Perhaps most importantly, Cathy identified the parenting strengths I already had and gave me the confidence to trust myself more as a mother. I know that I will continue to work with Cathy from time to time throughout my child’s life when I need some extra support.
Cathy’s parent support services have been hugely helpful to me as a parent.
Practically they have helped me to be a better parent which helps me and undoubtedly helps my children. I have read some parenting books and Instagram posts, however I have found myself stuck when a situation comes up that isn’t dealt with on Instagram or I tried the Instagram ‘script’ and it didn’t work. I also feel that doing whatever my parents might have done in the circumstances is not an option, as more is known these days about child psychology and development. So it can feel lonely sometimes knowing that the ‘old way’ of doing things is not optimal, but not quite knowing what is the optimal way of doing things.
Having someone to listen and talk through these parenting issues with is helpful if partner, parents, friends are not on the same parenting page. Talking to Cathy meant that she understood my children, my family circumstances and was able to give lots of useful advice specific to my situation.
Usually she has lots of different suggestions so that I feel free to pick the ones most suitable for me.
Most importantly, her advice worked!!!
I love that Cathy can put herself in the shoes of the child but also of the parent so that the needs of both can be met.
What is also helpful is that if I come back for future advice sessions, Cathy already knows and remembers my children and any issues we have, so we can just pick up from when we last spoke.
I don’t think anyone would regret using this parent support service and would more likely come back for more and more support sessions.
Cathy helped us through a very difficult time when our daughter was suffering with Anxiety and Panic Attacks. Its very hard as parents to watch your child go through something so upsetting and we were desperate for some help and guidance on how to deal with it all. Cathy worked with us in such a gentle and caring way. She is so gifted at showing the difference in how we as parents view situations versus how a child does. Cathy made us feel confident in our approach and we still use some of the techniques she taught us. We never felt anything but understanding, compassion and empathy from Cathy. We are so hard on ourselves as parents and especially so when our children are vulnerable or suffering, Cathy made us feel like we were doing a good job, and gave us the skills and confidence to work through it with our daughter.
I contacted Cathy for parenting support as my daughter was suffering very badly with anxiety, she was nearly 5 at the time and was due to start school which I knew would be a huge change for her as she loved where she went to pre school and I knew how hard it was going to be for her as she also had separation anxiety. Even small things like going to a friends birthday party was a battle and she would not stay at any birthday parties without me, sometimes I was the only parent having to stay at the birthday parties and even the thoughts of her going to a birthday party would make her anxious and she would cry before going or cry while at the birthday party and wanted to go home.
During lockdown and covid she got worse.
Her first day at school was very upsetting for her and she spent the first few months of school crying every morning and not wanting to go. Cathy was a huge support and gave great advice through Zoom on how to help my daughter going to school, birthday parties and even just every day issues that anxiety causes.
Now she is running in the door to school every morning and also loves going to birthday parties and I no longer have to stay at the birthday parties with her.
Cathy was so nice to work with and I would highly recommend the parenting support service that Cathy provides. We can’t thank Cathy enough and we are so happy we found this parenting support service.
Our daughter is like a different child now and we couldn’t be happier.
Webinars
Cathy delivered a number of sessions around supporting children to parents and staff in our school last year as part of Mindful May. I had the pleasure of working with Cathy during this period when she created and delivered presentations to the parents of all age groups across
the school. Cathy designed the content based on themes and topics we discussed and her presentations were bespoke and tailor-made for our context and around the concerns and priorities we had for children in our school.Her advice and suggestions were practical and tangible as well as rooted in research. The feedback from parents and staff was very positive and the Zoom format worked really well for those caring for children at home who might not be able to attend a face-to-face event at night. I look forward to working with Cathy again in the future and I would have no hesitation in recommending her for parenting support or to schools and other child-centred organisations who wish to support children’s emotional and social wellbeing.
Circle of Security Online Parenting Groups
“As the Mental Health Lead for the Jordan Thomas Foundation, I felt it was important to offer Circle of Security to our families because so many of them are navigating complex medical and emotional challenges. We wanted to provide parents with a framework that would help them better understand their child’s needs, strengthen emotional connection, and build resilience as a family, and Circle of Security provided exactly that.
Cathy’s facilitation brought the program to life in a deeply thoughtful and compassionate way. She created a safe, reflective space for parents to make sense of their own patterns while staying anchored in the realities of parenting a child with medical or physical challenges. Her ability to hold the group with warmth, clarity, and clinical depth allowed participants to open up, feel seen, and leave with practical tools that extended well beyond the sessions.
The feedback from parents was consistently positive, many shared that the experience changed the way they approach moments of distress, both in themselves and their children. It was a valuable and much-needed addition to our mental health initiatives, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with Cathy in future programs.”
Maha Ghazale, Mental Health Lead, Jordan Thomas Foundation
4 Week Playful Parenting Course
Cathy was so easy to listen to, she had so many practical ideas backed up by some really interesting studies. I loved the relevant quotes, all of the extra literature recommendations and of course the real life examples and experiences shared by Cathy and others. I would highly recommend this course for ALL parents.
I really enjoyed the four nights. I loved all the questions that were asked and loved that Cathy made it feel really ok to be honest and open about stuff that’s just hard to do/manage as a parent. I can hand on my heart say that I would 100% recommend this course to any parent. It has all the big stuff included in a really accessible way.
It was an excellent course! I absolutely loved it. Cathy delivered the training in an absolutely beautiful way. The course content was easy to follow and so informative. The material provided was outstanding. A thoroughly enjoyable course. I have learned so many practical skills and tools that I can implement and use straight away. Thank you Cathy!
The Swallow's Trail 