Just One Thing for Parents with Dr Bettina Hohnen

What's just one thing parents can do to help a child who is restricting what they eat? In this episode of Just One Thing for Parents, I'm joined by Yaara Shimshoni, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine. Yaara has extensive experience training, supervising and treating families using SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), and she has recentl...

What happens when life throws your family a curveball? In this special long-form episode, I'm joined by Dr Rebecca Chilvers and Dr David Trickey, both Consultant Clinical Psychologists who specialise in supporting families through trauma, loss, uncertainty, and unexpected challenges. Together, we explore what happens when the future you imagined for your child or family suddenly changes. We discus...

What's one supportive sentence you can say to an anxious or OCD child that helps them feel both understood and capable? When children are caught in anxiety or OCD, parents often feel desperate to fix it, reassure them, or make the distress stop. But in this episode, psychotherapists Demetra Brege and Will Sessions explain why some of these very natural responses can accidentally keep anxiety going...

What's at the heart of all good rules and boundaries in the home? If you've ever found yourself in a stand-off with your child over screens, curfews, or simply getting out the door on time, this episode is for you.  Boundaries are one of the most common – and most challenging – parts of parenting, especially as children move into the teenage years. In this episode, I'm joined by Rachel Richards, f...

What does your child really need when their emotions feel overwhelming? In this episode, I'm joined by Helen Wilde, a systemic psychotherapist and DBT therapist with over 25 years of experience working in CAMHS with children, young people, and families. Together, we explore how ideas from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can support emotional regulation in everyday parenting. Helen explains tha...

How do parents know when to worry about their child's mental wellbeing? In this episode, I am joined by developmental psychologist Laura Dimler to explore one of the most common and anxiety-provoking questions parents face. When your child is struggling, it can feel like an impossible puzzle. You don't want to overreact or pathologise what might be a normal phase. But equally, you don't want to mi...

What are the short- and long-term effects of infidelity and separation on children, and how can parents protect their child's emotional wellbeing through it? In this episode, I am joined by Juliet Rosenfeld, psychoanalyst and author, to explore the impact of infidelity and separation on children. Drawing on her clinical work and psychoanalytic perspective, Juliet explains that these experiences ca...

How can we talk to teenagers about their brain in a way that actually helps, rather than making them roll their eyes? In this episode, I am joined by Dr Sarah McKay, a neuroscientist and author specialising in brain health, with a particular focus on women's brain health across the lifespan. Together, we explore what's really going on in the teenage brain, and why the way we talk about it matters...

What does OCD really look like in children — and how can parents respond in a way that truly helps, rather than unintentionally keeping it going? In this episode, I am joined by Dr Stuart Brownings, a clinical psychologist at a specialist OCD clinic who works exclusively with children, young people and adults experiencing obsessive compulsive disorder. Drawing on both research and extensive clinic...

Diagnosis in mental health and neurodiverity is on the rise - what's really going on and what does this mean for children, families, and society?   In this special long-form episode, the first in a series of extended conversations, I'm joined by Dr Libby Nugent and Dr Anna Hutchinson, both clinical psychologists. Together, we explore the role of diagnosis in modern life, particularly in the fields...

What does neurodiversity really mean — and how can parents navigate the joy, confusion and exhaustion that can come with it? In this episode, I'm joined by Professor Amanda Kirby, a leading expert in neurodiversity, co-founder and CEO of Do-IT Solutions, and author of more than ten books. Drawing on over 40 years of clinical experience — and her own life as a parent and grandparent in a neurodiver...

How can we help our children make and keep friends — especially when friendships feel messy, painful or confusing?   In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a clinical psychologist, author and friendship expert. Together, we explore why friendship is so foundational to children's wellbeing and why almost every child will struggle socially at some point. Eileen explains how parents...

How do you hold on to your cultural identity while raising children in a different cultural environment?   In this episode, I'm joined by Margaret Taribo, a visionary community leader and CEO of Parenting Skills to Go and Distinct Family Services.   Together, we explore what culturally appropriate parenting really means in a diverse society. We talk about identity, belonging and the tensions that...

How can parents help children recover when things don't go to plan? In this episode, I'm joined by Ramita Anand, teacher, educational mentor, and creator of the Elevate programme, a mentoring programme supporting preteen girls. Together, we explore how parents can support children to navigate setbacks, build resilience, and experience repair after mistakes, disappointments, or struggles. We talk a...

What if your child's behaviour isn't about disobedience, defiance, or "pushing boundaries" — but about what's happening in their nervous system?   In this episode, I'm joined by Emily Hughes, parenting coach and founder of Finding Flow Parenting, to explore what parents can do to become a nervous-system-aware family. Emily invites us to move beyond seeing children's behaviour as wilful or intentio...

Parenting is demanding for everyone, but for parents with ADHD, it can feel especially overwhelming. In this episode, I'm joined by Michaela Thomas, clinical psychologist and neurodiversity specialist, to explore what parenting looks like when your own executive functions are under constant strain. Parenting is, in itself, a huge executive function task, requiring constant planning, organising, re...

What should parents really know about ADHD medication, beyond the headlines and fears? In this episode, I'm joined by Professor Peter Hill to explore one of the questions parents ask most often and worry about: ADHD medication. Together, we unpack what ADHD medication actually does in the brain, why stimulant medications can be so effective when ADHD is significantly impairing a child's life, and...

What can you do when your child feels so distressed that school becomes impossible? How do you support them without getting pulled into the panic yourself? In this episode, I'm joined by clinical psychologist Dr Carolyne Keenan for a compassionate and deeply informative conversation about Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) — a challenge that has become increasingly common, particularly sinc...

How do you protect children from unhelpful food and body talk when celebrations revolve around eating and family gatherings? What can parents do when well-meaning relatives, social media, or conversations about weight loss creep into festive meals?   In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Anna Colton, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and eating disorder specialist, to explore how parents can manage foo...

Have you ever wondered why some children seem to shrink inside themselves after a mistake, while others recover quickly and move on? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Stephen Blumenthal, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and author, to explore an emotion that touches every family but is so often misunderstood: shame.    Drawing on his decades of clinical experience, Stephen explains how shame i...

Grief is one of the hardest experiences a child can face, and one of the hardest moments for a parent to support.    In this episode, I speak with Dr Hannah Abrahams, an Educational Psychologist with more than twenty years of experience supporting children through bereavement. Hannah brings such warmth, clarity and reassurance to a topic that can often feel overwhelming for parents.   She explains...

What does it really take to build a relationship with your child that can withstand the ups and downs of growing up — and how can you do that when family life feels busy, chaotic or overwhelming?   In this episode, I'm joined by developmental psychologist Dona Matthews, whose work focuses on helping parents create strong, secure relationships that carry children through whatever storms life brings...

What does it really mean to give a child a secure attachment — and how can we do that if our own early experiences weren't secure?   In this episode, I'm joined by psychotherapist Anne Power, who has written extensively about attachment theory and how our early experiences shape not only how we parent, but how we relate to others throughout life.   Anne explains the two key attachment behaviours —...

Welcome to this special Must-Have Moments episode for ADHD Awareness Month.   In this compilation, Dr Bettina Hohnen revisits highlights from four expert conversations exploring ADHD and executive function through different stages of development — from early childhood right through to young adulthood.   We begin with Dr Laurie Faith, who explains what executive functions are, how they develop, and...

When your affectionate child suddenly transforms into a teenager who rolls their eyes, snaps back, or avoids you completely, it can feel painful and personal. In this episode of Just One Thing for Parents, Bettina Hohnen speaks with journalist, mother of four, and bestselling author Lorraine Candy about why teenagers often act like they "hate" their parents — and how understanding what's happening...