Deborah MacNamara

About Deborah

Most of the parents, educators, and helping professionals I work with are dealing with a child or teen who is anxious, melting down, refusing school, fighting bedtime, glued to a screen, or pushing back against everything — and they are exhausted and getting conflicting advice. Parents also often want to know whether their child or teen is on track developmentally, and whether they will grow out of certain behaviours.

Understanding your kids from the inside out is the key to making headway. The focus of counselling is on strategies to support them emotionally and help them grow well. Counselling also supports parents as caretakers, as they balance home and work life.

Common concerns: anxiety and worry in children and teens; tantrums, meltdowns and emotional outbursts; aggression and hitting; defiance, opposition and power struggles; discipline that isn’t working; sleep problems and bedtime battles; eating, food and picky eating; attention, focus and learning difficulties; school refusal and school anxiety; screen time, gaming and technology conflict; sibling conflict; separation anxiety and clinginess; bossy and controlling behaviour; toddler and preschool behaviour; teenagers and adolescence; bullying and peer problems; divorce and family transitions; and developmental milestones.

I am a developmentalist (PhD), Registered Clinical Counsellor, and author of Rest, Play, Grow and Nourished, with 25 years of clinical practice and teaching in developmental and attachment-based approaches, including work with Dr. Gordon Neufeld.