Online Parenting Classes & Family Therapy in Manhattan, KS

Families who come to New Connections Mental Health from the Manhattan area carry two distinct kinds of weight—and sometimes both at once. University families navigate academic pressure, achievement culture, and the particular visibility that comes with being embedded in an intellectual community. Military families navigate deployments, homecomings, and the steady emotional labor of raising children inside a life that is always, on some level, in transition. Parenting classes in Manhattan, Kansas are built to meet both: grounded, evidence-based, and designed for the realities of families who rarely have a stable week.


Riley County sits at the confluence of the Blue River and the Kansas River, and Manhattan has grown into a city shaped equally by Kansas State University's campus energy and by Fort Riley's presence just to the west in Junction City. Aggieville draws students and families into its rhythm of community, while neighborhoods near the K-State campus, out through Ogden and Grandview Plaza, and into the surrounding rural townships reflect the particular mix of rootedness and transience that defines this corner of north-central Kansas. New Connections reaches Manhattan families through fully virtual sessions, keeping access consistent no matter where a family is in the cycle of their life here, with in-person appointments available at the Hays office at 2810 Plaza Avenue.


The families New Connections works with in Manhattan tend to be high-functioning people who have already tried to figure things out on their own—and who know enough to recognize when that is not working. For military families, the challenge is often reconnection: children who absorbed a deployment in ways nobody fully acknowledged, and parents who returned home to a household that reorganized itself without them. For university families, it is often the gap between a child's inner life and the achievement-focused surface of family culture. Parenting classes in Manhattan, Kansas offer both groups the same essential thing: a way to understand what their child is actually experiencing and what they need from the relationship.


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

 

 

Understanding the child before changing the behavior The CPRT model begins with a single question: what is this behavior trying to communicate? Children act out, shut down, and escalate for reasons that make sense when a parent learns to read the message beneath the behavior. For Manhattan families navigating academic pressure, military transition, and the particular visibility of a university community, that reframe tends to land quickly and stick.


Explore the right type of coaching for your family

 

 

One phone call to get started Families in Manhattan and across Riley County can reach Michelle Holdeman by phone for a direct, unhurried conversation about what is going on at home and which program format makes the most sense. Group and individual options are both available, and no intake process is required before that first conversation.


Skills that stay with families long after the program ends

 

 

Skills practiced at home, week by week Each week of the program introduces one new tool and asks parents to use it in a brief structured play session. For families navigating the packed schedules of Manhattan life—game days, academic calendars, and the rhythm of a university community—the format is designed to work within whatever time is available rather than against it.


Explore our services and specializations

Child parent relationship training CPRT was designed for exactly the kind of parent Manhattan tends to produce: high-functioning, genuinely invested, and occasionally mystified by why the thing that should be working is not working. The program does not suggest those parents are doing something wrong. It gives them a new lens through which to understand what their child is communicating and a set of practical tools to respond to it.

Therapy for teens Teenagers in Manhattan are navigating the particular pressure of growing up in a community where academic achievement is visible and social belonging is high-stakes. Add to that the specific weight of military family life—the separations, the reunions, the constant recalibration of who's in charge—and the need for a space to process what they are actually carrying becomes clear.

Therapy for family The families who come to family therapy at New Connections from the Manhattan area are often carrying the accumulated weight of transitions they did not fully process: moves that happened too fast, deployments that left marks no one discussed, and the slow drift that sets in when everyone is managing instead of connecting.

We serve clients in Manhattan and nearby areas

New Connections Mental Health serves families throughout Manhattan, Riley County, and the surrounding region. Virtual parenting classes and an online parenting course reach clients in Junction City, Ogden, Wamego, Marysville, and the Fort Riley communities without requiring a drive. In-person sessions are available at 2810 Plaza Avenue in Hays for families who prefer to meet face to face.

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 know that families in a university and military community like Manhattan face a specific kind of parenting challenge: doing deeply important work with partial support, divided attention, and frequent transitions that leave little room to process what just happened. I built New Connections Mental Health to meet families in that reality rather than asking them to come to a support program that does not account for it. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized training in CPRT and family therapy, I offer fully virtual services that fit around the rhythms of Manhattan life, and in-person appointments at my Hays office for those 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.