Jessica Alba says she hopes to ‘destigmatise’ mother-daughter therapy

The actor says she struggles to stop treating her teenager ‘like a little kid’

Jessica Alba at the AT&T 5G Immersive Event in New York City, July 2021 (Getty Images)

Jessica Alba opened up about going to therapy with her 13-year-old daughter with the hope of “destigmatising” it.

Earlier this year the actor revealed she began mother-daughter therapy with her eldest child, Honor, two years ago because she was struggling “with not treating her like a little kid”.

Alba and her husband, Cash Warren, have three children together: daughters Honor, 13, and Haven, 10 and son Hayes, 3.

In a new interview with People, Alba said she chose to reveal that she started therapy with her daughter to help “destigmatise” it and to “show up” for her children.

“I think it makes it less scary for others,” she said.

“It really is: How can I show up as a mom for my kids and be the best parent for her?

“There really isn’t one sort of recipe that works across the board. I just wanted to be able to show up for her.”

Alba made the comments while promoting her new children’s book, A Bear to Share.

In July, the actor appeared on an episode of Katherine Schwarzenegger’s Instagram series “Before, During & After Baby”.

Alba told the host that she had made the decision to attend therapy with Honor after struggling to communicate with her own parents as a child.

She said it has helped her communicate better with the teenager.

“Like my 13-year-old, I’m struggling with not treating her like a little [kid]— I want to treat them all like babies. I want to baby them,” she said.

“I started going to therapy with her I think when she was 11.

“For me, it was really out of, I felt like my relationship really suffered with my parents because they didn’t know how to communicate with me and how I needed to be parented.

“So, I didn’t want that breakdown with Honor so we went to therapy together,” she explained.

Alba said attending the sessions together had a marked impact on Honor, who “felt empowered to find her voice” and “own her opinions in a way and really gain confidence to say, ‘hey, mom, I like this, I don’t like this’”.