Coffee & Co-Regulation

Connection, Encouragement, and Community for Parents Raising Children with Emotional and Behavioral Challenges

Parenting a child who experiences intense emotions, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, or unpredictable moods can feel like riding an emotional roller coaster.

Some days bring connection, progress, and moments of joy.

Other days, even the simplest routines can become overwhelming.

When you're raising a child with Bipolar Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), ADHD, or other emotional and behavioral challenges, everyday parenting can require extraordinary amounts of patience, flexibility, and emotional energy.

You may find yourself constantly anticipating the next emotional storm, trying to balance compassion with boundaries, or wondering whether other parents truly understand what your family experiences.

If you've ever wished you could sit down with other parents who understand the highs, lows, and everything in between, this group was created for you.

At Upstate Integrative Mind Counseling, our Coffee & Co-Regulation Peer Support Group offers a welcoming community where parents can connect, share experiences, exchange resources, and encourage one another while navigating the unique challenges of raising emotionally dysregulated children.

What Is Coffee & Co-Regulation?

Coffee & Co-Regulation is a weekly, therapist-facilitated peer support group that brings together parents and caregivers raising children who struggle with emotional regulation, mood instability, impulsivity, and behavioral challenges.

Emotional dysregulation occurs when someone has difficulty managing the intensity, duration, or expression of emotional responses. For children, this may look like explosive reactions, prolonged emotional distress, difficulty tolerating frustration, impulsive behaviors, or challenges returning to a regulated emotional state.

For parents, these experiences can create ongoing stress, uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion.

Rather than feeling like you have to explain why something seemingly small led to a major emotional reaction, you'll meet other parents who understand.

Together, we'll share experiences, explore practical parenting ideas, exchange resources, and support one another through the challenges and successes of raising children with complex emotional needs.

This is a peer support group, not group psychotherapy. The therapist serves as a facilitator, helping create a supportive environment for connection, discussion, and shared learning.

Who Is This Group For?

This group may be a good fit if you are parenting or caring for a child who experiences:

• Bipolar Disorder

• Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)

• ADHD and impulsivity

• Emotional dysregulation

• Intense emotional reactions or frequent outbursts

• Difficulty managing frustration or disappointment

• Mood instability

• Oppositional or challenging behaviors

• Anxiety accompanied by emotional or behavioral difficulties

• Autism-related emotional regulation challenges

• Difficulty with transitions, routines, or unexpected changes

• Other emotional, behavioral, or impulse-control difficulties

Whether your child has a formal diagnosis or you're still trying to understand their emotional and behavioral challenges, you'll find opportunities for connection, encouragement, and support from parents navigating similar experiences.

What We'll Discuss

Topics may include:

• Understanding emotional dysregulation in children and adolescents

• Recognizing emotional triggers and patterns

• Co-regulation and the importance of parental emotional responses

• Navigating emotional outbursts and behavioral escalation

• Balancing compassion, validation, and boundaries

• Supporting children during periods of mood instability

• Managing impulsivity and frustration

• Recognizing the difference between emotional dysregulation and intentional misbehavior

• Navigating school challenges and family relationships

• Supporting siblings and maintaining family balance

• Parent burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion

• Building resilience and maintaining realistic expectations

• Celebrating small victories and meaningful progress

• Sharing community resources and parenting experiences

Each meeting provides space for open discussion, questions, encouragement, and learning from one another.

The group is not designed to provide individualized treatment recommendations or replace a child's existing mental health services.

Why Join?

Parenting a child with significant emotional or behavioral challenges can sometimes feel isolating.

Friends and family may offer well-intentioned advice without fully understanding the complexity of your child's needs.

You may find yourself explaining behaviors, defending parenting decisions, or feeling exhausted by the constant effort required to help your child navigate everyday experiences.

And sometimes, you simply need a place where you don't have to explain everything.

Coffee & Co-Regulation provides:

• A supportive community of parents who understand

• Opportunities to share experiences without judgment

• Encouragement during difficult parenting seasons

• Practical ideas and resources from other families

• A welcoming space to discuss parenting challenges

• Opportunities to learn about emotional regulation and co-regulation

• Connection with parents navigating similar diagnoses and behaviors

• Space to celebrate progress, even when it comes in small steps

• Support for maintaining your own emotional well-being

• A reminder that you don't have to navigate every challenge alone

Sometimes the greatest relief comes from sitting across from another parent who understands and hearing:

"Our family goes through that, too."

Come for the Coffee. Stay for the Connection.

At Coffee & Co-Regulation, we recognize that supporting emotionally dysregulated children can require tremendous emotional energy from the adults who care for them.

Parents deserve opportunities to feel understood, supported, and connected, too.

You don't need to have all the answers, and you don't need to arrive with a perfect parenting plan.

Just bring yourself, your experiences, and a willingness to connect with others who understand the journey.

Because even the people helping everyone else regulate need a place to recharge.

Coffee & Co-Regulation meets weekly and is facilitated by a licensed mental health professional at Upstate Integrative Mind Counseling. This is a peer support group rather than a psychotherapy group. Participation does not establish a therapist-client relationship, and the group is not a substitute for individualized mental health treatment.