Sometimes some parents are afraid to say things such as "I love my children but right now I don't like them", because they fear they will get judged or because they feel that this means they have failed as a parent. However the reality is that if parents do not address these issues, there is a possibility that such feelings will adversely impact on their lives. 

From my experience of having worked in a school in London for troubled young people, many families break down because of the difficulties they are facing with bringing up children.  I have spent many years working with young people and their families and I saw first hand how a break down in communication can impact on the family dynamics.

One parent will blame another for the behavior of their children, both parents will blame their children for their negative behavior (often they vocalize it), the children will blame their parents for their negative behavior (usually the children don’t vocalize this) and very quickly things can get out of control.

What I have found missing is “communication”.  Parents are understandably preoccupied with “how to make ends meet”, “how to find enough hours in a day to complete all tasks” etc.  What there isn’t enough time for is reflection - "am I spending enough time looking after myself in order to be a good enough parent", "what am I doing well", "have I checked that the children are getting what they really need?"

Counselling could offer you a non-judgmental environment to explore the feelings of “failing as a parent”, the feelings of “I might not be a good partner”, the feelings of “I want to leave”.