Alongside therapy
Alongside the therapy and support a struggling child or teen receives at Rosh Patuach, his parents get personal parent guidance. They receive professional tools and guidance tailored to their child, so they can support and steer him at home.
The well-known words "chanoch l'na'ar al pi darko," educate a child according to his way, take on a deeper, truer meaning here. After the assessment, and after talking with the parents about the child, his nature, his abilities and his difficulties, a clear understanding of who he really is emerges. That makes the guidance precise and suited to this particular child, so many mistakes in chinuch can be avoided. The advice shows the parents where to steer around the bumps and simply contain, and where it's time to guide, educate and set a direction.
The guidance comes in several forms, all included in the therapy:
A parents' meeting after the assessment
A meeting with the parents alone, without the child. The parents hear the full picture of their child as it came up in the assessment and in their conversation, and get to know his abilities and limitations in depth. They receive guidance and recommendations on how to move forward: for chinuch at home and in cheder, and the best way to ease his difficulties and set him on the right path. When needed, they also get referrals to other frameworks and therapies, based on the needs and difficulties that were seen.
Guidance throughout therapy
If you go ahead with therapy, you receive guidance and clear messages along the way: how to act with your child, and the most effective way to reach his heart and soul. Therapy takes place with a parent present, so the connection and the guidance are ongoing, and they contribute a great deal to the child's progress. Parents describe with real excitement how the tools they gained changed the way they handle their child at home, in a way that suits him better, and how he blossomed.
Evening phone calls
When there are things that can't be discussed in front of the child, the guidance continues in phone calls in the evening. Parents get advice and support on helping their child grow in every area of life.
Support with the school staff
There's a whole circle of support with the staff in cheder, school or yeshiva. The staff also get guidance on how to handle the child and help him move forward. This usually helps prevent problems and conflicts with the school, helps the staff contain the child and find ways to work with him, and of course makes them an important part of his progress.
The guidance, for parents and for school staff, is part of the therapy, at no extra cost.
For teens, with Shtulim
Alongside the parent guidance within therapy, Sarah is a certified guide with the Shtulim organization (also known as "HaKarbanitim"). This opens another, dedicated option: guidance for parents of teenagers, without therapy for the teen himself. The guidance follows the well-known method of Rabbi Yechiel Pleskin, a method that has proven itself in saving many boys and girls, keeping them on the path of Torah and mitzvos or bringing them back to it.
Many boys and girls go through real distress as they grow up, and there is often a fear that the distress will weaken their yiras Shamayim and their shemiras hamitzvos. Parents looking for the right way to act toward their son or daughter, in a way that prevents weakening or leaving, chas v'shalom, and draws them closer to a life of growth in Torah and yiras Shamayim, will find in this guidance and in Rabbi Pleskin's approach, b'ezras Hashem, the right and precise way to return the hearts of parents to their children, and to have nachas from them with simcha.
What this guidance adds at Rosh Patuach: a strong focus on understanding the child's unique inner world and style, his nature and his personal traits. After a conversation, or an assessment where possible, once we understand what makes things hard for the child and how he got to where he is, the way to bring him back on track, and to help him and his parents, is often much clearer and more precise.
Safety and preparing for adolescence
Within the guidance for parents of teens, you can also receive dedicated guidance on safety and on preparing for adolescence. Here the parent learns how to guide their child through the physical and emotional changes of growing up, in the gentlest, most fitting and most appropriate way. This guidance follows the approach of Rabbi Pleskin and Mrs. Rivka Nehari, an approach that Gedolei Yisrael have relied on.
Sarah Shugerman · Cognitive assessment and therapy through play · Parent guidance