Online Parenting Classes & Family Therapy in Dodge City, KS

Parenting in a community with deep roots in hard work and self-sufficiency can make asking for support feel unfamiliar. Many Dodge City parents describe sitting with a concern for months before reaching out. What they find on the other side is a program that respects what they already know and builds on it, rather than asking them to start from scratch.


Some of the most capable parents that New Connections Mental Health has worked with come from the Dodge City area. They are resourceful, committed, and used to figuring things out on their own. Parenting classes in Dodge City, Kansas are built for exactly that kind of parent: one who is ready to add something new to what they already know and put it to use right away.


Ford County stretches across the high plains of southwest Kansas, and Dodge City sits at its center with a history shaped by cattle trails, resilience, and the kind of grit that still runs through the community today. Families near Dodge City Community College, along the Arkansas River corridor, and out toward Garden City and Spearville are part of a region that has always had to work for what it needs. 

Explore our Online Child Parent Relationship Training

The Child-Parent Relationship Training is a 10-week guided program to help you turn daily meltdowns into moments of connection through play, co-regulation, and relationship-based tools, without yelling, power struggles, or feeling like you’re failing as a parent.

How it works

The CPRTprogram is a framework built around connection, not correction

 

 

CPRT reframes the question that most parenting challenges bring up. Instead of asking what to do when a child melts down, it asks what the meltdown is trying to communicate. Once parents start hearing behavior as language, their responses shift naturally, without needing a script for every situation.



Explore the right type of coaching for your family

 

 

Families in Dodge City and the Ford County area can call to speak with Michelle Holdeman and find out which program fits their situation. The conversation is direct and focused on making the right match, whether that is a group setting or private coaching sessions.


Skills that stay with families long after the program ends

 

 

The program does not ask parents to overhaul their approach overnight. Each week introduces one tool and asks parents to use it in a 30-minute play session. By the end of the program, those weekly moments have created something durable: a way of being with a child that does not depend on everything going perfectly.



Explore our services and specializations

The parents who get the most from CPRT tend to be the ones who walked in thinking they already had a handle on their child. What they discover is that knowing and understanding are two very different things, and that the gap between them is exactly where connection lives.


As the weeks move forward, something begins to soften at home. Parents describe fewer standoffs at bedtime, less escalation during homework, and a quality of ease that they had stopped expecting. Children, for their part, seem calmer because they feel understood rather than managed.


The program is available as an online parenting course, which means Dodge City families can do this work without the barrier of distance or a long commute. Every skill is portable and designed to be practiced inside the actual texture of daily family life in southwest Kansas.


Southwest Kansas teenagers are navigating a specific kind of pressure: the weight of a community's expectations, the pull of the future, and the particular loneliness that can come from not having many places to take the harder feelings. Teen therapy gives those feelings a legitimate home.


Young people who come to therapy regularly tend to develop something their parents notice before they expect to: a new capacity to pause before reacting, to name what they are feeling, and to communicate it in a way that opens a conversation rather than closing one down.


Because sessions are available virtually, teens in Dodge City can access support consistently, even during sports seasons and the unpredictable demands of high school. The work adapts to the student's life rather than asking the student to rearrange around it.


In tight-knit communities like Dodge City, family tension often stays private for a long time before it becomes unmanageable. By the time a family reaches out for support, everyone has usually been carrying something for longer than they should have. 


Family therapy offers a structured space to finally set it down.

The process tends to surprise families. What they expected to be a mediated argument usually becomes something more like an excavation: old misunderstandings get named, old stories get revised, and the people who love each other start to remember why.


Virtual family therapy sessions make it possible for the whole household to participate without adding a long drive across southwest Kansas to an already demanding week.


We serve clients in Dodge City and nearby areas

New Connections Mental Health serves families throughout Dodge City, Ford County, and the broader southwest Kansas region. Virtual parenting classes and online parenting courses reach clients in Garden City, Liberal, Kinsley, and Spearville. In-person sessions are available at the Hays office at 2810 Plaza Avenue for families who prefer to meet face to face. The map below shows the office location.


Testimonials

“I’m very grateful for your wisdom! You are so gifted at your profession!”

“Thank you so much for helping me with my child. You have no idea how much we appreciate it and how much you mean to the both of us!”

“I hope you know how much you mean to us. You are incredibly talented and came into our lives at the exact right time. Thank you for supporting and loving us. Your work has made a world of difference in our trajectory and healing. We love you very very much!”

Hi, I'm Michelle Holdeman, founder of New Connections Mental Health group practice

I built New Connections Mental Health because I believe that geographic distance should never stand between a family and real support. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist, and founder of this practice, I bring training in CPRT and EMDR to my work with children ages 3 to 17 and their families. I have spent my career in schools, hospitals, and community mental health settings across Kansas, and the team I have assembled shares that same drive. Behavior is communication, and connection is the foundation of healing.



Frequently asked questions

  • How is CPRT different from any other parenting curriculum?

    • CPRT stands out for its practical, incremental approach. Parents are introduced to one skill per week and encouraged to apply it during brief, focused play sessions, allowing for sustained learning and integration.
    • It emphasizes the therapeutic power of play, which aligns with how children naturally process their world.
    • Critically, CPRT has been designated as an Evidence-Based Treatment by SAMHSA, distinguishing it from many other parenting curricula.

  • What is expected from the parent:

    Imagine a parenting course that doesn’t overwhelm you or ask you to change everything at once. With CPRT, you’ll build a stronger bond with your child using 30-minute play sessions each week. These moments become powerful tools to understand your child’s inner world. Plus, CPRT is backed by research and it's recognized by SAMHSA as an Evidence-Based Treatment.

  • Will my insurance cover the cost of CPRT?

    No, insurance is not billed for group classes. We’ll happily provide a superbill that you can submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.