UConn Health Southington Teams with Main Street Community Foundation to Pilot Free Counseling

If you're having a hard time dealing with the stress of parenting during the Covid-19 virus, the University of Connecticut has just the program for you.

The school's Child and Family Development Program has launched a pilot program that offers free parent group counseling sessions, educational resources, and support groups for parents of kids with neurodevelopmental disorders, among other things, the Hartford Courant reports.

"Parenting is hard! It got a lot harder with COVID-19 struggles which have taken a mental health toll on both parents and children," David FitzGerald, a psychiatry professor and director of UConn Health's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, says in a press release.

"Having increased support and educational resources is critical for parents to stay on a productive path."

The program, which received a $150,000 grant, offers several parent groups, including those that help parents manage child behavior problems, groups that improve parent-child emotion connections, and support groups for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

"Research shows that if you work with parents, you may be able to help them better manage their behavior and marry together their more effective behavior with improving their kids' behavior," FitzGerald says.

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