Playgroup as peer group

Counselor moms and dads seek support to navigate the challenges of balancing family life and work life.

By Stacy Notaras Murphy

When counselor Rachel Feldwisch transitioned from full-time to part-time work a few years ago, she struggled to find flexible day care for her daughter. Luckily, her longtime friend and fellow American Counseling Association member Molly Meier was also looking for child care to accommodate her new private practice schedule. As the two traded baby-sitting sessions, they also shared peer supervision and encouragement. Both counselors now have private practices in Indianapolis and kids in full-time day care programs, but they continue to support each other as counseling moms.

“Molly and I talk about once a week,” Feldwisch says. “We are seeking our art therapy credentials and attend monthly supervision together. We often share resources such as articles and books or attend continuing education events [together].” The two counselor moms also schedule frequent playdates because of their nontraditional work schedules and because their kids are close in age.

Most counselor moms and dads would be envious of this arrangement. Anyone with children knows all too well that attempting to complete household chores and paperwork during narrow (and sometimes unpredictable) nap times is a harried game of “Beat the Clock.” But counselors in private practice might feel even further under the gun as they try to maintain the delicate balance between remaining hands-on parents and making themselves available to their clients throughout the workweek. Challenges range from the assorted complications of returning a client phone call to simply getting enough sleep to be present during a session. Some counselors seek out other parents within their professional communities — parents who know what it’s really like on the other side of the couch — to trade war stories, insights and even child care.

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Source: Counseling Today