Background and Aim:
Parenting in emotionally demanding contexts often triggers reactivity rather than reflection. The Shahkelid Plus program was developed in Iran to strengthen parents' emotional awareness, empathy, and mindful self-regulation. Alongside structured parenting education, each parent was accompanied by a professional psychologist who personalized the process, provided reflective feedback, and tailored the content to the parent's real-life challenges. Implementation booklets and home-based exercises helped parents apply learned skills in daily life. This study aimed to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative outcomes of parents' growth throughout the process.


Method:
Data were drawn from reports of 30 mothers of children aged 1.5-9 years (mean = 3.8) who completed the full Shahkelid Plus program and were accompanied by their assigned psychologist for an average of 5.6 months. Using a mixed-method design, seven interrelated indicators of emotional and behavioral growth were analyzed—most prominently emotional awareness, self-regulation, and empathy. Quantitative ratings before and after the intervention were integrated with qualitative thematic analysis of reflective narratives written by psychologists. Inter-rater reliability was confirmed by cross-checking 11 randomly selected cases by independent reviewers.


Results:
Quantitative findings showed consistent improvement across domains: emotional awareness increased from 2.3 to 4.1, self-regulation from 1.9 to 3.8, and empathy from 1.7 to 3.9. Child irritability decreased notably. Qualitative analysis revealed four recurring patterns of change: (1) increased emotional awareness and mindful pause before reaction, (2) greater empathy and acceptance of children's differences, (3) calmer family atmosphere and warmer communication, and (4) recognition of fatigue, time pressure, and extended-family interference as barriers. Continuous practice, reflective dialogue with the psychologist, and father-child quality time were reported as key facilitators.


Conclusion:
The Shahkelid Plus model effectively enhances parents' emotional regulation and awareness through personalized, psychologist-guided practice. The findings highlight the value of culturally grounded, emotion-focused parenting interventions in fostering long-term self-regulation and relational growth among caregivers.