“Holding On While Letting Go: A Parent’s Journey Through Mental Health & Eating Disorders”
Andrea Marsh
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Professional
- Fee:
- Paid: From £750 + travel. Virtual available. Enquire for tailored quote.
- Category:
- Health
- Updated:
- 1st September 2026
- Tagged:
- Mental Health | Eating Disorders | Parenting | Resilience
When your child is struggling with their mental health, every instinct tells you to protect them, fix it and hold on tighter.
But sometimes supporting them means learning when to step in, when to step back and how to keep going when you feel completely powerless.
In this deeply personal and honest talk, Andrea Marsh shares her experience as a parent navigating her daughter’s serious mental health difficulties and eating disorder.
She explores the fear, guilt, confusion and exhaustion that can sit behind closed doors alongside the difficult reality of loving someone fiercely while knowing you cannot simply make everything better.
Blending lived experience with professional insight, Andrea shines a light on the parent’s side of the journey: the conversations, the mistakes, the lessons and the moments that change you.
This is not a story about having all the answers.
It is a story about connection, resilience, hope and learning how to support someone you love without losing yourself along the way.
Key takeaways Understanding the emotional reality for parents and families Recognising the difference between supporting and trying to control Navigating fear, guilt and feelings of helplessness Understanding how mental health and eating disorders can affect the whole family Communicating when conversations become difficult Holding onto hope during uncertainty Recognising the importance of support for the parent too
Best for Parent groups, schools, colleges, charities, eating-disorder organisations, mental-health events, healthcare audiences and organisations supporting children and families.
Views: 257 | Enquiries: 1About Andrea Marsh
Andrea Marsh is a multi-award-winning Mental Health, Resilience and High Performance Speaker who helps audiences understand what may really be happening behind the behaviour they see.
Combining professional training with powerful lived experience as a parent, Andrea speaks with honesty about young people’s mental health, eating disorders, parental resilience, difficult conversations, workplace wellbeing and the human impact of pressure.
Her approach is not about labels, jargon or telling people to simply “be more resilient”. She helps audiences recognise what can sit beneath withdrawal, anxiety, changing behaviour, burnout and emotional struggle and gives them greater confidence to respond with understanding, connection and practical action.
Andrea works with schools, colleges, parents, healthcare professionals, NHS teams, businesses and organisations, adapting her talks to the challenges facing each audience.
Her speaking combines storytelling, practical insight, humour and vulnerability, creating sessions that are thought-provoking without becoming clinical or overwhelming.
Andrea is a qualified professional coach, holds Level 2 qualifications in Self-Harm Awareness & Suicide Prevention and Mental Health in the Workplace, is Enhanced DBS checked, and is the author of Silent Struggles: Beyond the Behaviour.
She has received multiple awards for her work, including Business Woman of the Year 2025 and Best High Performance Coach & Mental Wellbeing Speaker 2026.
Her message is simple: when we stop reacting only to what we can see and become curious about what is happening underneath, better conversations and real change become possible.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Andrea Marsh
- “Invisible Battles: Breaking the Silence Around Mental Health & Eating Disorders”
- Behind the Behaviour: What Young People Are Really Trying to Tell Us
- When “I’m Fine” Isn’t Fine: Spotting the Signs Before Crisis
- The Parent Nobody - Sees Supporting Yourself While Your Child Is Struggling
- Strong Enough to Bend - Building Resilience Without Burning Out
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