My son's counselor agreed that parent counseling was a good idea when I asked about it last week after my son's session. My ex and I have the first session the first week in January, and I have to admit, I'm glad, but scared.

Has anyone ever tried parent counseling? Did you think it helped the two of you get on the same page, or see how/why your child was acting more clearly?

Whenever my ex picks my son up, I let him know how he has acted, and have suggested several times that he needed to have some father/son time to allow our son to become more relaxed an able to communicate with his father. He always says he didn't know our son was scared of talking to him, and would do it. But he has never followed through.

I don't want to put the whole story here, but my son keeps talking to me about how he is afraid of saying anything because my ex gets angry or yells. And that his girlfriend's son does the same things and his dad only disciplines our son. I can only tell my son that I can't do anything since it isn't my house, and not my child. Which is why I wanted to start the parent only counseling. Everything my ex tells my and the counselor that he says is going on, or will be worked on, seems to be completely opposite of what occurs. But since it is only from what my son says, I want to have his counselor as the 3rd party. We cannot seem to get on the same page, and I feel like I have two children instead of one.

My fear, is that after each session, the ex is going to leave and treat my son like crap. Which I will not be able to forgive myself for. If he cannot be a loving father that will take time for his son, and realize the fear our son towards him, I plan on changing the living situation.

Anyways, all comments (good or bad) about how your experiences with parent counseling would be appreciated.