RAISING ORCHID PARENTS
Therapy Group for Grownups Raising Neuro-Diverse Kids
First, let’s be clear: there is absolutely nothing wrong with your kid. Or with you. And, parenting orchid kids (aka neuro-divergent kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, or other developmental delays) is next level parenting.
Parents of neuro-diverse kids are known to face more stress, more pressure and criticism from others, more self-doubt, more confusion, more isolation, more shame, and generally have more to do than parents of neuro-typical kids. Translation: You get triggered more and your nervous systems are highly taxed so you’re often not as emotionally resilient (read: calm, grounded) as you’d like to be due to the chronic nature of the stress you face.
THE PROBLEM
The problem is that there is so little support of, education for, resourcing of, and understanding of families with neuro-divergent kids. Likewise, few systems and individuals in our society (schools, pre-schools, doctors, neighbors, playdate pals, in-laws, etc.) get it either. Our culture isn’t providing the kind of community these kids and their grownups need to function at their best. We know that orchid kids aren’t bad or wrong. They just need more scaffolding than neuro-typical kids to succeed.
Our Group
You are not alone and you aren’t meant to do this alone. You require a village. This group is the part of your village where you heal and work through all that prevents you from being the emotionally regulated parent you want to be with a kid who needs that from you because emotional regulation is not exactly their forte either. We are rarely taught this, and our society does not foster it. And, if you were raised with trauma or any kind of complicated family situation, it may be harder for you. This group is not intended to teach you how to parent your kid. This group is for you. To process. To feel. To talk about what this is like. To look at your triggers. To see that others share them. To learn that you are not the worst person in the world for this thought or that thought that you think only you have had but that probably everyone has had and is ashamed to admit.
OUR APPROACH
This interpersonal process group is a dynamic psychotherapy group that fosters a healthy atmosphere so that you, alongside other group members, can talk about your current struggles with emotional regulation and your current relationship difficulties to see how they intersect with your past. It is also meant to heal whatever else comes up so that you can be the parent you want to be, and not the one that storms in from out of nowhere through some portal from the past and hijacks your best intentions. This group is specifically focused on the unique needs of grownups raising orchid kids and their particular challenges, struggles, grief, confusion, and dysregulation so that you can get in touch with the triumphs and joys that come from raising these creative, fun, authentic, kind, honest, sensitive, and resilient beings.
Our Therapist
Lisa Kays, LICSW, LCSW, LCSW-C
Lisa Kays is a psychotherapist in private practice serving Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Oregon. Lisa works with adults to strengthen relationships whether it be with oneself, a partner, kids, work, a substance, family-of-origin, or the world. She works with individuals and couples, and is a seasoned group therapist with over a decade of experience witnessing the reality that while our individualistic society believes one-on-one therapy is superior, really group therapy is where it’s at: cheaper, more efficient, more healing, and yes, even more fun. Lisa is currently raising two awesome orchid kids, along with her husband as they discover that they too are probably a little orchid-y in their own ways. Lisa’s approach to therapy (and to life) is shame-busting, non-pathologizing, non-stigmatizing, and non-judgmental. You can get blame and shame most anywhere else; you come here because Lisa knows that we heal faster and more effectively through validation, self-compassion, community, and, yes, fun!
Join Us
You are not alone and you aren’t meant to do this alone. This therapy group will allow you to process, feel, heal, and talk about the unique challenges of raising orchid kids so that you can be the parent you want to be and reconnect to the joys of raising creative, fun, authentic, kind, honest, sensitive, and resilient beings.