Hi, I’m Hayley Rice

I’m a child and adolescent psychotherapist specialising in play therapy courses, a parent-child relationship coach, a former teacher and a training facilitator.

I am the co-founder of The F.I.R.M. Parenting Approach and Hub and co-host of the popular parenting podcast Is It Just Us?

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Over the last 20 years I have worked with children and families.

As a teacher I shouted, used rewards and punishments and felt guilty and frustrated a lot of the time. Through training and working as a psychotherapist, I found a new way of understanding and responding to children that felt so much better to me and made a huge difference to them.

But, I quickly realised that in order to help the children I was working with, I needed to help the adults in their lives too. So, I set about translating my knowledge into actionable steps for parents and professionals to become conscious of their patterns, connected to themselves and empowered to respond to challenges in a new way.
I co-created The F.I.R.M. Parenting Approach and Hub with my colleague Debbie Cullinane in 2025. The Hub is for **parents who want to nurture their child’s emotions without losing sight of limits, respect, and accountability.** This is our passion and we adore providing this accessible support and having fun in the process.

Advice And Support For Parents

1:1 Online Advice Sessions

I have designed a unique framework for my 1:1 Online Advice Sessions that will not only give you solid strategies that you can put to use right away, but will help you to delve into the root of the issues and make changes that last!

When you become conscious of your own patterns, triggers and blind spots, you can really begin to find new, more helpful ways of coping.

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So, what is conscious, connected parenting?

I love a ‘tip’ or a ‘trick’ when it comes to challenging situations with kids just as much as the next person, but, tips and tricks rarely stick! The problem with a ‘quick fix’ approach to helping children is that the root causes are often missed.

As a psychotherapist it is my job to help people to peel back layers and look beneath behaviours, to tune in to themselves to find the answers and to, in turn, break unhelpful, deeply engrained patterns! Phew! That is much more work than a tip or a trick, I know!

But the payoff is literally life changing! When you become conscious of your own patterns, triggers and blind spots, you can really begin to find new, more helpful ways of coping. That means that the cycle of fighting, power struggles, shouting and any other coping that brings about guilt is stopped in its tracks. That, in turn, means that you are raising your children in a NEW way, without the generational cycles that you don’t want to continue. And, that is nothing short of amazing. I believe everyone can do this, but I know that most people will need support through it at certain times too. I would love to be your cheerleader as you navigate your consciously connected parenting path.