UKCP Psychotherapist · Therapeutic Coach
You love them. You are also exhausted, snappier than you want to be, and quietly wondering whether everyone else finds this easier. Counselling here is for you as a person, not another set of parenting instructions.
Planned support, not crisis care
Years of experience
It is a confidential space to work on what the role is doing to you: the guilt after the shouting, the exhaustion that sleep does not fix, the arguments about whose rules apply, and the moments you hear your own parents’ words leave your mouth. I do not assess, diagnose or treat children. If your child or teenager needs their own support, I will say so and point you to the right place, including youth coaching here, or specialist support for parents of neurodivergent children.
You promised yourself this morning would be different. By bedtime it has happened again, and now you are lying awake replaying it.
Work, school runs, appointments, everyone else’s feelings. You are the last item on your own list, and the list never ends.
Every boundary becomes a negotiation with the other parent first. Same house or two houses, the friction lands on you.
One-word answers and a closed door. You are grieving the child who used to talk to you, and nobody warned you it would feel like loss.
You hear your mother’s or father’s voice come out of your mouth and freeze. You promised yourself you would do it differently.
The school gates, the group chat, the cousins. You compare your insides to their outsides and always lose.
Parenting is one of life’s most rewarding responsibilities, and one of its most demanding (Bornstein, 2002). Struggles usually cluster in five familiar places: children’s behaviour that outpaces your tools, connection that thins as they grow, co-parenting conflict, plain exhaustion, and the particular turbulence of the teenage years (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014; Cowan and Cowan, 2002). None of these mean you are a bad parent. They mean you are a person under sustained load, and recognising the pattern early is what protects the relationship (Bornstein, 2002).
For the full clinical overview of parenting issues and practical strategies, read the parenting issues treatment page, or browse all treatments.
Not another behaviour chart for them; steadier ground for you. We work on what happens in your body before the shouting, so you get to choose your response more often.
Breaking the loop, and learning repair that actually lands, so one bad evening stops writing the story of the week.
Alignment where possible, workable boundaries where not. Together or separated, the aim is fewer battles fought through the child.
The patterns you swore you would never repeat have roots. We work with them respectfully, so the past informs your parenting instead of running it.
Rebuilding energy, and the parts of your identity that got parked: the friendships, the work self, the person you were before.
Staying connected through the wall, and honest guidance on when a young person would benefit from their own space to talk.
Book a free 20-minute initial consultation. No commitment. Just a conversation about where you are and whether we’re the right fit.
We explore your story in depth, your patterns, strengths, and what keeps showing up. Together we identify exactly what we’re working with and agree on your therapy goals.
We develop personalised DBT strategies for your specific challenges, practical skills you can apply between sessions, starting from week one.
We solidify your progress, review goals, and build resilience for the long term, preparing you for a more stable, fulfilling life with or without ongoing support.
NHS-trained · King's College London
My name is Sabbir, and I am a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and EMCC-accredited therapeutic coach with more than 20 years of experience working with neurodivergent adults. I specialise in DBT and CBT therapeutic approaches for ADHD and autism, working from both my Harley Street practice and City Road clinic in London, as well as offering online therapy across the UK.
I am also a parent who has been in it: the father of an autistic son. I know the school meetings, the waiting lists, and the particular tiredness nobody warns you about. I trained in the NHS at the Tavistock and Portman, studied CBT at King’s College London, and I bring both lives into this work: the clinical training and the lived reality of parenting. Your family is not a problem to be fixed, and neither are you.
Clear fees for parenting counselling, with a free 20-minute initial consultation.
Session Starting from
£195
Two years in, I have become far more self-aware, with real tools to handle being a mother, daughter and partner.
Parent
Having embarked on a journey with Sabbir Ahmed , I’ve experienced a profound transformation that has touched every aspect of my life. Through his expert guidance, I’ve not only become more self-aware but have also developed the tools to navigate my roles as a mother, daughter, and partner with newfound understanding and grace.
Entrepreneur and founder
I am deeply grateful for Sabbir’s profound positive impact on my life. His unique approach, coupled with the safe and supportive space he creates, has been truly transformative. Over the past two years, his guidance has helped me grow in confidence, heal from deep trauma, and embrace self-acceptance. Thanks to Sabbir, I feel empowered to live authentically and to build the life I’ve always dreamed of for myself and my family.
Product professional
The questions parents most often ask before their first session.
No. There is no curriculum and nobody grades you. It is confidential counselling for you as a parent: your stress, your guilt, your relationships, your history, with practical work where practical work helps.
No, the sessions are yours. I do not assess, diagnose or treat children. If your child or teen needs their own support, I will help you find the right route, including youth coaching here.
Yes. Some of this work is best done together, some in parallel, and where the couple relationship itself is the work, I may suggest couples therapy. We decide on the free initial consultation.
It can be, and there is also a dedicated path: coaching for parents of neurodivergent children, built around exactly that experience. The initial consultation is where we choose.
This page is counselling, therapy-side: depth work with a UKCP-registered psychotherapist. The practice also offers structured coaching; if your goals fit that better, I will say so.
Most parents notice meaningful change within 6 to 8 sessions. Longer-standing patterns can take longer. We review progress every 6 to 8 sessions so the work keeps a clear shape.
Sessions start from £195, and the first step is always a free 20-minute initial consultation. Full details are on the therapy fees page.
No. I work privately rather than through insurance panels. You pay per session and receive an invoice for each one.
Choose the format that works best for you. I offer parenting counselling face-to-face at my City Road and Harley Street practices, alongside secure online sessions for clients across the UK.
Harley Street: 96 Harley Street, London W1G 7HY
London City Road: 335 City Rd, London EC1V 1LJ (Angel)
Online: Secure video sessions UK-wide and globally
