Single parenthood encompasses all those situations where a parent finds herself/himself raising a child or children alone - that is, without a spouse or a live-in partner. Single parenthood can occur for a number of reasons, including separation, divorce, abandonment, and death of the other parent. Sometimes, single parenthood occurs through choice. For example, a person will choose to have a child through single-person adoption, artificial insemination, or IVF with anonymous sperm donation. We are here to support single parents - irrespective of their choices and circumstances.
The psychologists in our Maternal Mental Health unit understand and value the effects these different dynamics can have on parenthood. Our mission is to support parents transitioning towards single parenting, by taking note of the changes in a family’s structure and helping the single parent adjust to the numerous challenges they might be facing. These challenges can range from loss and grief related to divorce or death, to reaching the best possible decisions on daycare arrangements or managing a child that might be acting out in response to the loss of the other parent and the change in his/her living conditions (e.g.,, schooling, housing, contact with extended family, and financial circumstances).
Our mission is also to support women deciding to have a child on their own, by accompanying them through the hurdles that can arise in the process of trying to adopt as a single mother or getting pregnant with sperm donation. Traveling abroad and going through medical or administrative procedures alone can compromise a person’s motivation to go through with the adoption or the treatments, making them doubt not only themselves, but utterly, their desire for a child. Social challenges, like the announcement of their decision to go through with such a process and the reaction of their extended family and social circle to it, the announcement of a pregnancy achieved this way, preparation for delivery and the arrival of the child, whether it is biological or adopted, are all significant moments in the journey towards single parenting. At every step of the way, ambivalence can take its toll on the intended single parent: one can desire more than anything to go through and have a child on their own and at the same time, fear it intensely. In Thrive’s supportive environment, we can safely explore all those dynamics together, in order to support you in making the best choices for you and your family.
At our psychology clinic, we have four psychologists who can support you through your pregnancy - Dr. Sarah Rasmi, Dr. Vassiliki Simoglou, Dr. Kate Prozeller, and Pashmi Khare (M.Sc.)
In Thrive’s supportive environment, we can safely explore all those dynamics together, in order to support you in making the best choices for you and your family.
We are here to support you and your family.
