Parent Coaching

Have you found yourself in screaming matches with your child?

Do you feel depleted after struggling through yet another meltdown?

You are a caring and dedicated parent, but sometimes the moments of confusion and overwhelm seem to take over.

You desperately want change for yourself, your child, and your family. You’ve tried everything you can think of, but your family seems to spend more time escalating rather than connecting. Whether you’re new to parenting or a seasoned veteran, we all need someone in our corner to hear us and support us.

That’s where we come in — Defining Development’s Founder, Larissa Balik, pulls from over a decade of professional experience coaching parents of children with diverse neurodevelopmental profiles. Her background in sensory processing, in depth understanding of childhood development, and extensive experience in meeting various learning styles maximizes her ability to collaborate with parents. Larissa has supported families, teachers, and other care providers in homes, schools, clinics, and hospitals and would love to help you on your journey toward more empowered, intentional, and connected parenting.

Larissa truly believes that the most powerful way to build coping skills, emotional stability, and resilience in our children is by supporting the adults who surround them. Shifting our impulse from reacting to responding builds space for compassion.

Virtual parent coaching for regulation and behavior support

What results can I expect?

For your family:

  • Decreased levels of stress

  • Improved awareness and processing of emotions

  • More collaboration and fewer power struggles

  • Strengthened connection in relationships

For yourself:

  • Improved self-awareness and self-reflection

  • Earlier recognition of signs of dysregulation

  • Better understanding of developmental capacities

  • Greater sense of self-efficacy

What sets Defining Development apart?

— Larissa’s advanced clinical experience ensures fast and noticeable results

— Intensive appointments quickly expand parents’ capacities

— Multi-modal learning opportunities support understanding and application of strategies

— Weekly strategies and materials offer parents targeted opportunities to make progress and ensure carryover

What does our collaboration entail?

  • Practicing openness and self-reflection in a respectful and non-judgemental space to gain a deeper understanding of what is and is not working for your family system

  • Looking at the why behind your child’s most challenging behaviors from a developmental perspective

  • Understanding the concept of regulation — for ourselves, our children, and within our relationships

  • Embracing imperfection and understanding the value of repair in parent-child relationships

 Our Process

  • We’ll have a free phone consultation to better understand your family’s needs.

  • We’ll identify your parenting goals and discuss your learning styles to customize our collaboration.

  • We’ll develop a tailored plan to support your parenting needs through remote coaching sessions, each 60 minutes in length — both parents are welcome!

  • We’ll answer your most pressing questions and identify concrete strategies to address your immediate concerns.

  • You’ll apply learning and tools between sessions to integrate knowledge and increase your sense of mastery.

  • We’ll reflect on impact and effectiveness to ensure you feel confident in your new parenting capacities.

Where do I begin?

The best way to show up for your children is by first showing up for yourself. You deserve customized support and a nuanced approach, and we can’t wait to hear from you so that we can start this journey together.

Virtual parent coaching for regulation and behavior support