The Parenting Compass Intensive
When You Feel Stuck, Find a Clearer Path Forward.
Personalized, intensive parenting support with Lauren Goldstein, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Maybe every morning has become a battle. Maybe your child is anxious, aggressive, refusing school, avoiding everyday demands, struggling to sleep, or melting down over things that seem small to everyone else. Maybe you've read the books, listened to the podcasts, followed the parenting accounts, talked to teachers and therapists, and tried more strategies than you can count.
And you're still wondering:
What does my child actually need, and what should I be doing differently?
The Parenting Compass Intensive is a concentrated, highly personalized psychological intervention designed to help parents and caregivers step out of the cycle, understand what's driving their child's challenges, and develop a practical path forward. Instead of trying one new strategy each week, we'll have dedicated time to look at the bigger picture, connect the dots, practice new approaches, and build a comprehensive plan specifically for your child, your family, and your real life.
You'll leave with more than information. You'll leave knowing what to do next.
What is The Parenting Compass Intensive?
The Parenting Compass Intensive is a short-term, concentrated psychological intervention for parents and caregivers who want individualized help addressing specific challenges within their family. Intensives typically take place over one to three days, with the amount of time determined by your family's needs and goals.
This isn't a parenting class or a generic curriculum. And it isn't a list of strategies that you're expected to take home and figure out on your own. Your intensive is built around your child(ren).
Before we begin, you'll complete intake paperwork and questionnaires and participate in an individual intake, planning, and goal-setting session with me. I'll use that information to understand your family's concerns and identify our priorities before the intensive begins, allowing us to use our time together intentionally.
During the intensive, we'll work deeply on the issues that are affecting your family most. We'll identify what's driving the patterns you're seeing, look at the role of regulation and the parent-child dynamic, determine what may need to change, develop individualized strategies, practice difficult situations, and troubleshoot potential obstacles. Then we'll turn everything we've learned into a plan you can actually use at home.
Your Child Doesn't Come With a Roadmap. But You Can Find Your Parenting Compass.
Parents are surrounded by advice: Be consistent. Set firmer limits. Pick your battles. Use consequences. Don't use consequences. Ignore the behavior. Validate the feeling. Hold the boundary. Lower the demand.
But here's the problem: The same behavior can happen for very different reasons.
A child refusing school may be anxious, overwhelmed by sensory demands, struggling socially, having difficulty with executive functioning, avoiding a demand that feels threatening, or experiencing several of these at once. A child who explodes when asked to turn off a video game may be testing a boundary, but also may be struggling with transitions, cognitive flexibility, impulse control, frustration tolerance, or the abrupt loss of something that was helping their nervous system regulate. A teenager who “won't” complete homework may actually be struggling to initiate, organize, prioritize, tolerate uncertainty, or recover after an exhausting day of holding it together at school.
That's why effective parenting isn't simply about finding the “right” strategy. It's about understanding what's driving the behavior so you know which strategy makes sense for your child.
That's where the COMPASS Framework begins.
C — Connect
O — Observe
M — Make Sense
P — Personalize
A — Apply
S — Strengthen
S — Sustain
Your Nervous System Is Part of the Picture, Too.
When a child becomes dysregulated, parents naturally respond. Your heart rate rises. Your body becomes tense. You may become louder, more controlling, more anxious, or more desperate to make the situation stop. Your child's nervous system responds to you. You respond to your child. And suddenly both of you are caught in a cycle that neither of you intended.
That's why part of our work focuses on you. Not because you're causing your child's difficulties. But because your responses are one of the most powerful things you can change.
We'll look at what happens inside you during difficult moments, identify patterns that may unintentionally escalate the situation, and develop ways for you to remain more regulated and intentional when your child needs you most.
Sometimes changing the cycle starts with changing what we bring into it.
The COMPASS Framework
The Parenting Compass Intensive is built around my COMPASS Framework, a personalized process for moving from confusion and reactivity toward greater understanding, confidence, and intentional action.
C — Connect
We begin with connection. We'll look at your relationship with your child, how your child experiences interactions with you, and how connection can become a foundation for regulation, cooperation, and change.
O — Observe
We step out of the immediate struggle and look carefully at the patterns. What happens before the difficult moment? What happens afterward? What are the triggers? What expectations, environments, transitions, sensory experiences, relationship dynamics, or demands may be contributing?
M — Make Sense
Next, we connect the dots. We'll consider what's actually driving the challenges you're seeing. Is it anxiety, emotional regulation, sensory needs, executive functioning, autonomy, developmental expectations, learned patterns, environmental demands, or a combination of factors?
P — Personalize
There is no one parenting strategy that works for every child. We'll identify approaches that fit your child's needs, your family's values, your circumstances, and your real life.
A — Apply
Knowing what to do isn't the same as being able to do it when your child is screaming, refusing, shutting down, or telling you that you're ruining their life. We'll turn concepts into action through specific language, scripts, routines, environmental changes, role-playing, and practice using situations that actually happen in your home.
S — Strengthen
We'll troubleshoot. What if your child says no? What if the new approach doesn't work the first time? What if one caregiver can use the strategy but another struggles with it? What happens when you're exhausted, frustrated, or dysregulated yourself? We'll strengthen your ability to respond effectively even when things don't go according to plan.
S — Sustain
Finally, we'll build a plan for what happens after the intensive. You'll leave with your personalized Parenting Compass Action Plan, customized resources, and a framework you can continue using as your child grows and new challenges arise.
The ultimate goal isn't for you to need professional guidance every time parenting gets difficult.
It's for you to become better equipped to navigate what comes next.
What Can We Work On?
Because every Parenting Compass Intensive is individualized, we can focus deeply on one challenge or address several interconnected areas.
Common concerns include:
Meltdowns & Shutdowns
Defiance & Oppositional Behaviors
School Refusal
Transitions & Routine Changes
Emotional Dysregulation
Frequent Parent-Child Power Struggles
School Stress
Sleep & Bedtime Difficulties
Aggression & Unsafe Behaviors
Anxiety, Fears, & OCD-Related Challenges
Homework Battles
Building Independence
Morning & Evening Routines
Executive Function Challenges
Sensory Needs
Screen Use & Tech-Related Conflict
Parent-Child Conflict
Social & Friendship Difficulties
Sibling Conflict
Co-Parenting Challenges
Together, we'll work to understand why your child is struggling and what you can do differently to make meaningful changes for your family.
Who is The Parenting Compass Intensive For?
You don't need to have a child with a specific diagnosis to benefit from a Parenting Compass Intensive. I work with caregivers of children ranging from toddlers through young adults, including families navigating common developmental and behavioral challenges as well as families raising neurodivergent children.
Your child may be neurotypical, or they may have diagnoses or differences that include:
ADHD • Autism • PDA profiles • ODD • Anxiety • Sensory differences • Executive functioning challenges • Emotional regulation difficulties
They may have several diagnoses. Or they may not have a diagnosis at all. We start with the child in front of us, not the label.
Why Work With Parents Instead of the Child?
This is one of the most important questions parents ask:
“If my child is the one struggling, shouldn't my child be the one in therapy?”
Sometimes, yes. Individual therapy can be extremely valuable, and there are circumstances in which direct treatment with a child or adolescent may be an important part of the overall treatment plan. But children don't live in a therapy office. They live within families, schools, routines, expectations, relationships, and environments. And caregivers have tremendous influence over those environments.
You are there when your child refuses to get ready for school. When homework becomes a battle. When bedtime falls apart. When siblings are fighting. When your child won't get off the computer. When your teenager shuts down. When anxiety takes over. When a seemingly simple request turns into an hour-long power struggle.
Parents and caregivers can change how demands are communicated, how routines are structured, how much executive functioning support is provided, how anxiety is addressed, how limits are set, how sensory needs are accommodated, how independence is scaffolded, and how everyone responds when a child begins to become overwhelmed.
A child may spend an hour a week with a therapist. You are there for the moments that happen during the rest of the week. When caregivers understand what is driving their child's behavior and learn how to respond differently, they have an opportunity to change the patterns surrounding the child throughout everyday life. That can create a powerful ripple effect.
The goal isn't to blame parents for their child's difficulties. It's to recognize just how much power parents have to help.
Can Other Caregivers Participate and Benefit?
Parenting Doesn't Only Mean Parents.
Although I call this The Parenting Compass Intensive, the adults participating don't have to be parents but also may include stepparents, grandparents, guardians, or other adults who play a significant caregiving role in your child's life.
In some families, involving multiple caregivers can be especially valuable. When the important adults in a child's life understand the child's needs differently and develop a more consistent way of responding, the impact can extend well beyond the intensive itself.
Why Choose an Intensive Instead of Weekly Therapy?
Weekly therapy can be extremely valuable and may be the best choice for some families. The Parenting Compass Intensive isn't intended to replace every form of ongoing treatment. It offers something different. We Have Time to Connect the Dots.
Family challenges rarely happen in isolation. Poor sleep contributes to difficult mornings. Difficult mornings lead to school battles. School stress increases anxiety. Anxiety contributes to avoidance. Avoidance creates conflict. Parents become increasingly frustrated and anxious. One caregiver starts backing off while another becomes firmer. And before long, everyone feels like they're walking on eggshells.
In a traditional weekly session, we may need to address these pieces gradually. An intensive gives us extended, uninterrupted time to step back and look at the whole picture.
We Can Build Momentum More Quickly.
Instead of spending several weeks gathering information, identifying patterns, introducing strategies, and revisiting them one at a time, an intensive allows us to concentrate that work into a focused period. You can begin implementing meaningful changes right away. We Have Time to Go From Learning to Doing. Understanding a parenting strategy intellectually is one thing. Using it at 7:15 in the morning when your child is refusing to put on shoes and you're already late is something entirely different.
During an intensive, we have time to practice. We can role-play the difficult conversation. Rewrite the language you typically use. Walk through tomorrow morning. Practice setting the boundary. Anticipate how your child might respond. Figure out what you'll do if Plan A doesn't work. That's difficult to accomplish in a traditional 50-minute appointment.
You Leave With an Integrated Plan. Instead of ending each week with one or two ideas to try, you'll leave with a personalized plan that brings the pieces together.
Choose the Level of Support Your Family Needs
Every family comes to an intensive with different needs. Some caregivers are struggling with one clearly defined issue and need focused guidance. Others are dealing with multiple challenges that have become intertwined over time.
For that reason, The Parenting Compass Intensive is offered at three levels.
You don't need to decide which one you need before reaching out.
During your complimentary consultation, we'll discuss your family's concerns and determine which level of support gives us the appropriate amount of time to meaningfully address your goals.
Focused Intensive
One Challenge. Focused Attention. A Clearer Path Forward.
1 Day | Approximately 3 Hours of Intensive Work
Investment: $1,800
The Focused Intensive is designed for families seeking concentrated help with one primary challenge or a small number of closely related concerns.
Perhaps bedtime has become a nightly battle. Your child is refusing school. Homework ends in conflict every afternoon. You're struggling with aggression, anxiety, screen transitions, demand avoidance, or increasing independence.
Instead of addressing the issue a little at a time over several weeks, we'll dedicate focused time to understanding what's driving the pattern and developing a strategy specifically for your family.
Your Focused Intensive Includes:
Pre-intensive intake paperwork and questionnaires; an individual intake, planning, and goal-setting session; my review and individualized preparation; approximately three hours of concentrated 1:1 intensive work; personalized strategy development; attention to caregiver regulation and response patterns; scripts and language for difficult situations; practice, role-playing, and troubleshooting; customized handouts and resources; your personalized Parenting Compass Action Plan; recommendations for ongoing support; and a 60-minute follow-up session approximately two weeks later.
Best for: One primary concern that is significantly affecting family life.
Comprehensive Intensive
When the Challenges Are Connected, We Need Time to Look at the Whole Picture.
2 Days | Approximately 6 Hours of Intensive Work
Investment: $3,200
Best Fit for Many Families
Children's challenges rarely exist in isolation.
Anxiety may lead to avoidance. Avoidance leads to conflict. Conflict contributes to meltdowns. Parents become increasingly anxious about setting expectations. One caregiver responds by backing off while another becomes firmer.
The Comprehensive Intensive gives us more time to connect the dots. Across two days, we'll examine the patterns affecting your family, identify the factors keeping those patterns going, and develop coordinated strategies addressing several areas of daily life. The additional time also allows us to practice more situations, troubleshoot likely obstacles, and make sure your plan feels realistic before you begin implementing it.
Your Comprehensive Intensive Includes:
Everything included in the Focused Intensive, with approximately six hours of intensive work across two days; time to address multiple interconnected concerns; deeper exploration of family patterns and caregiver responses; more extensive strategy development; additional role-playing and real-life scenario practice; troubleshooting across different situations and environments; and a more comprehensive Parenting Compass Action Plan addressing multiple areas of family life.
Best for: Families experiencing several related challenges or caregivers who feel they've tried multiple approaches without creating meaningful or lasting change.
Immersive Intensive
When Your Family Needs More Than a Solution to One Problem.
3 Days | Approximately 9 Hours of Intensive Work
Investment: $4,500
The Immersive Intensive provides the greatest level of individualized support within the standard Parenting Compass Intensive. It's designed for families navigating complex, longstanding, or highly interconnected challenges across multiple areas of life.
We may be looking at emotional regulation, aggression, anxiety, demand avoidance, school difficulties, executive functioning, independence, sibling relationships, caregiver differences, and family stress. These will be considered not as separate problems but as pieces of a larger system.
Over three days, we'll have the space to understand that system and begin changing it intentionally. We'll examine what's happening from multiple angles, identify priorities, develop strategies, practice difficult situations, anticipate roadblocks, and create a detailed roadmap for moving forward.
The goal isn't to give you dozens of new parenting techniques. It's to help you develop a new way of understanding and responding to your child that can guide you across situations, even after our intensive is over.
Your Immersive Intensive Includes:
Everything included in the Comprehensive Intensive, with approximately nine hours of individualized work across three days; in-depth attention to multiple areas of family functioning; extensive strategy development and implementation planning; additional practice with difficult or high-stress scenarios; greater attention to caregiver regulation; planning across different environments, routines, and situations; detailed troubleshooting and contingency planning; comprehensive recommendations for ongoing support; and an expanded Parenting Compass Action Plan designed to serve as your family's roadmap moving forward.
Best for: Families experiencing complex or longstanding challenges, significant stress across several areas of family life, or caregivers seeking the greatest opportunity to step away from the weekly model and work intensively toward meaningful change.
Expanded Immersive Intensive
Need More Time? Expanded Immersive Intensives Are Available.
Some families have needs that warrant additional time. When appropriate, an Expanded Immersive Intensive may include approximately 12 hours of intensive work across three days rather than the standard nine hours.
Expanded Immersive Intensive Investment: $6,000
This option isn't necessary for most families and isn't something you need to choose before contacting me. If, during our consultation and planning process, I believe additional time would meaningfully benefit your family, we'll discuss whether an Expanded Immersive Intensive makes sense.
Your Intensive Doesn't End When the Intensive Does
Real life is where we find out what works. That's why every Parenting Compass Intensive includes a 60-minute follow-up session approximately two weeks later. By then, you'll have had time to implement your Parenting Compass Action Plan and notice:
What's improving, what's harder than expected, where are old patterns creeping back in, which strategies fit naturally, which ones need adjustment, and what situations we did not anticipate. During our follow-up session, we'll review your progress, troubleshoot challenges, and refine your strategies as needed.
Optional Booster Sessions
Some families leave their follow-up feeling ready to continue independently. Others benefit from occasional additional support as their child grows, circumstances change, or new challenges arise.
Optional booster sessions are available for an additional fee.
These can provide targeted troubleshooting without requiring families to automatically transition into ongoing weekly therapy.
In Person, Virtual, or Hybrid Options
The Parenting Compass Intensive is designed to provide concentrated support while offering flexibility in how we work together.
In Person intensives are available at my office in Coral Springs, Florida.
Virtual intensives are available to eligible families located throughout Florida and all PSYPACT-participating states and jurisdictions.
Hybrid intensives are available for families for whom a combination of in-person and virtual sessions may offer the best fit.
We can discuss whether a hybrid format makes sense during your complimentary consultation.
Your roadmap awaits!
Dr. Lauren Goldstein
Let's Connect