When a young person comes out, begins exploring their gender or sexuality, or asks to be known differently, parents and carers can feel many things at once. There may be love, pride and relief. There may also be worry, protectiveness, uncertainty, grief for an imagined future, or fear of saying the wrong thing.
Those responses do not make someone a bad parent or carer. They can be part of trying to make sense of an important change in a relationship that matters deeply.
Open Hearted Parenting is a new small therapy group in Carmarthen for parents and carers of LGBTQ+ young people. It offers a respectful place to reflect on what is happening, talk with others who may be carrying similar questions, and find ways of staying connected without needing to have every answer immediately.
A space for the adults who care
Parents and carers are often expected to become calm, informed and perfectly affirming overnight. In reality, many people are trying to learn while managing their own feelings, family histories, cultural expectations and fears about how the world may treat their young person.
Some may worry about using the wrong words. Some may notice that conversations at home have become careful, tense or avoided. Some may feel alone with questions they are reluctant to ask because they do not want to cause harm.
This group is a place where those experiences can be brought into the open with care. It is not a course in getting parenting “right”, and it is not a space for judging people who are trying to understand more. It is a chance to slow down, listen, reflect and become more available to the relationship.
What the group is — and is not
Open Hearted Parenting is an affirming group. It is not about questioning, debating or changing a young person’s identity.
Instead, the focus is on the adults: their feelings, hopes, assumptions and patterns of communication. The group can help participants distinguish fear-based reactions from supportive ones, practise curiosity, and develop more confidence in being alongside their young person.
There will be space to talk and to listen. The sessions will follow what participants bring rather than a fixed teaching programme, and nobody will be expected to share everything at once.
As with any group, confidentiality is part of the agreement. Everyone will be asked to respect what is shared, while being clear that confidentiality between group members cannot be absolutely guaranteed. The group agreement, including its safeguarding limits, will be discussed before anyone joins.
Who it is for
The group may be helpful if you are a parent or carer of an LGBTQ+ young person and:
- want to be supportive, but do not always know what to say;
- feel anxious about getting things wrong;
- are protective and worried about the challenges your young person may face;
- find that important conversations have become tense, careful or absent;
- would value a place to ask honest questions without shame; or
- would like to meet other parents and carers who are learning too.
- would like to keep communications open with their young person.
You do not need to have everything worked out before coming. You will find a place of support and understanding.
Practical details
Open Hearted Parenting will run on Thursday evenings, 6:30–8:00pm, from 28 January to 18 March 2027 in Carmarthen.
- Eight weekly sessions, each lasting 90 minutes
- A small group of up to 12 parents and carers
- Facilitated in English by Shona Prasad, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist (UKCP registered), and John Dray, Advanced Trainee Adult Psychotherapist (UKCP registered)
- Course fee: £400, or £360 for bookings made before 31 December 2026
We offer an informal, free 20-minute introductory call before the group begins. It is a chance to ask questions and consider whether the group feels suitable. The group is not a crisis service. The exact venue will be revealed after the introductory call.
To ask about a place, email info@lgbtq.cymru. Please keep initial emails brief and avoid including sensitive personal details. Further information is available at lgbtq.cymru.