This psycho-educational, and practice-oriented presentation is designed to offer an introduction to the principles and practices of mindful parenting. Mindful parenting is intended to enhance parental presence, improve parent child connections, reduce parental stress and reactivity. Mindfulness in the parenting realm aims to improve emotional stability in parents, thereby providing them with a choice about how to navigate the unique challenges of raising a child or teen.
Mindfulness can help move us from reactive parenting to responsive parenting by teaching the skills to tolerate difficult emotions, and not get caught in unproductive worry thoughts that can arise when we are concerned for our children. This increased awareness can help us choose to make value-based parenting decisions that are guided by a deep understanding of our child’s temperament, communication style and behaviour. This introductory presentation will aim to teach skills to “wake up” and become present to yourself and to your loved ones.
Gayle Saifert D.C.S, RSW is a Clinical Social Worker in private practice with 25 years of experience working with clients who struggle with issues related to Anxie-ty, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder, Aspergers and Learning Disabilities. Gayle aims to improve the social and emotional health of her clients, using evidenced-based approaches like CBT, and MBCT, and DBT informed work. Gayle’s mindfulness training has extensively informed her work in individual, family and group therapy settings with an emphasis on interventions that can help adults, teens and children manage moods and relationships more effectively. Gayle is actively involved in teaching Mindful Parenting Groups to manage stress and anxiety.