Online Parenting Classes & Family Therapy in Emporia, KS

There is a particular kind of family that finds its way to New Connections Mental Health from the Emporia area: thoughtful, steady, and genuinely committed to raising children who feel known. The Flint Hills region has a way of producing people who take the long view, and the parenting classes offered here reflect that same orientation. Parenting classes in Emporia, Kansas are not about quick fixes or behavior management tricks. They are about building the kind of parent-child relationship that holds through every season of family life.


Lyon County sits at the eastern edge of the Flint Hills, where the Cottonwood River moves through a landscape of native tallgrass prairie that has remained largely unchanged for centuries. Emporia State University—long known as a teachers college—gives the city an educational character and a steady population of families who value learning and professional growth. The city holds an unusual historical distinction as the birthplace of Memorial Day, a detail that speaks to the community's sense of civic responsibility and care for what endures. Families across Emporia and out through Council Grove, Cassoday, and Americus are served by New Connections through virtual sessions, with in-person appointments available at the Hays office at 2810 Plaza Avenue.


The mix of university culture and agricultural steadiness that defines Emporia produces families with a particular quality: they know how to think carefully about things and they know how to do the work. What sometimes gets missed in that combination is the emotional dimension—the part of parenting that is not about strategy or structure but about attunement and relationship. Parenting classes in Emporia, Kansas give families in Lyon County the specific tools to develop that attunement deliberately, so that the care they are already giving lands in a way their children can feel and carry forward.


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.

Child-Parent Relationship Training (CPRT) materials with a laptop video and stacked handouts

How it works

The CPRTprogram is a framework built around connection, not correction

 

 

A program grounded in relationship science The CPRT model has been studied extensively and recognized by SAMHSA as an evidence-based treatment. What matters more than those credentials is how the program feels to families in practice: specific, usable, and grounded in the actual relationship between a parent and a child rather than in abstract principles about what good parenting looks like.


Explore the right type of coaching for your family

 

 

A first conversation that goes straight to the point Emporia families can call Michelle Holdeman directly to talk through what is happening at home and which format makes the most sense. The conversation is focused and low-key, with no intake paperwork and no pressure to commit before having a real exchange about what the family actually needs.


Skills that stay with families long after the program ends

 

 

A week-by-week rhythm that produces something real Each session introduces one skill, practiced at home in a short play session during the week. By the middle of the program, the daily rhythms of the household begin to feel different—not because anything dramatic has happened, but because the relationship between parent and child has shifted in a way that changes how everything else feels.


Explore our services and specializations

Child parent relationship training CPRT is built on decades of research in child development and designed to translate that research into practical tools that parents can actually use. For Emporia families who want something with substance behind it—not just advice—the program offers both the evidence and the experience of watching that evidence work inside their own home.

Therapy for teens Adolescents in Emporia are navigating the specific pressures of a college town—the proximity of a world that feels both exciting and uncertain, the visibility that comes with being known in a mid-size community, and the particular challenge of growing up when your own future feels both close and out of reach. Teen therapy at New Connections gives those young people a private space to sort through what they are actually carrying.

Therapy for family Family therapy at New Connections is not built around blame or resolution. It is built around understanding—the kind that comes when each person in the room is genuinely heard and what they hear back surprises them. For Emporia families who have been trying to figure each other out for a long time, that experience of being understood tends to be the thing that opens everything else.

We serve clients in Emporia and nearby areas

New Connections Mental Health serves families throughout Emporia, Lyon County, and the surrounding Flint Hills region. Virtual parenting classes and an online parenting course reach families in Council Grove, Osage City, Cottonwood Falls, Burlington, and the Tallgrass Prairie corridor without requiring a drive. In-person appointments are available at 2810 Plaza Avenue in Hays for families able to make the trip.

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 out of a belief that families in every part of Kansas deserve access to skilled, genuine parenting support. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized training in CPRT and family therapy, I work with Emporia families who want to understand their children better and build something more intentional in their household. Virtual sessions are available statewide, and in-person appointments are held at my Hays office at 2810 Plaza Avenue for families who prefer to meet face to face.


Smiling person sitting on a log in a grassy park, wearing a tan jacket and jeans, with decorative star stickers around the photo

Frequently asked questions

  • How is CPRT different from any other parenting curriculum?

    • CPRT uses the language of children's play to build connection and understanding between parent and child.
    • It introduces one new concept weekly, practiced in short sessions, making it easier to retain and implement.
    • Best of all, CPRT is recognized by SAMHSA as an Evidence-Based Treatment, proving its effectiveness.

  • What is expected from the parent:

    • CPRT focuses on gradual learning, introducing one practical skill at a time so parents can apply and retain new strategies effectively.
    • Rather than overwhelming you with too much theory, CPRT is structured to be clear, doable, and supportive for busy families.
    • Each week builds on the last, helping you strengthen your bond, improve communication, and reduce conflict with your child in a manageable way.
    • CPRT has been validated by SAMHSA as an Evidence-Based Treatment, setting it apart from standard parenting guides.

  • Will my insurance cover the cost of CPRT?

    Group CPRT classes are not eligible for insurance billing. However, if you're attending individual sessions, we can provide a superbill. This document can be submitted to your insurance provider for possible reimbursement, depending on your plan's coverage.