In September 2025, I presented at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) annual meeting alongside two high school college counselors and an independent educational consultant. Our presentation, titled “Dealing with Denial and Managing Maybe: Supporting Students as They Receive Decisions”* focused on building workshops to help parents and caregivers navigate the emotional rollercoaster of uncertainty, disappointment, and joy that accompanies the admissions decision period. The tremendous reception and feedback from the audience reinforced for us the desire for guidance and tools to help families and students through this process.
My colleagues and I have offered a workshop to help parents in our own community approach admissions decisions with a lens on maintaining connection and support. As discussed in a previous blog post, the focus in our community workshop is teaching parents the importance of tolerating distress and how to speak and act with intention – in line with values – even when feelings are running high. At NACAC, we shared how we run our workshops, and how powerful they can be in just a short amount of time for parents who attend. We shared some selected concepts from psychotherapy that can be applied to those moments when kids check their portals and throughout the process.
In my practice, I bring what I have learned over the past few years in this space to parents in GUIDE sessions and in ongoing therapy. The college admissions process is a significant emotional milestone for students and parents alike. Parents will seek a GUIDE session when fears or conflict seem to be getting in the way of their family relationships during the last two years of high school. A confidential and therapeutic space offers a compassionate and solution-focused opportunity to help identify vulnerabilities to high emotions so that they can recognize when they arise and be prepared to act with intention.
Navigating the college application process is no small feat, but it doesn’t have to drive a wedge between you and your child, especially at this important transition year. With guidance from an experienced therapist, it can become an opportunity for deeper connection. This is an area where often a short amount of time can lend itself to important pauses and better outcomes. Having received such positive feedback from the workshops, GUIDE sessions, and now from our presentation at NACAC, I encourage parents who are struggling or who hope to start out on the right foot with the admissions process and upcoming family transitions to reach out to hear how single-session therapy could be helpful to you.
* Dealing with Denial and Managing Maybe: Supporting Students as They Receive Decisions”. Melissa Abraham, Katie Gayman, Amy Selinger and Lauren Watson. NACAC, September 18, 2025, Columbus, Ohio
