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This paper presents narratives about the experience of parent work undertaken separately, but alongside child psychotherapy, with parents and carers in a specialist CAMHS service. This service is specifically for children 0–18 who have been impacted by severe and enduring parental mental health difficulties. This research generated direct accounts with one parent with severe anxiety and depression, another with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and a grandparental kinship carer. Narratives were generated using free association narrative interviewing, combined with a narrative inquiry approach, which allowed for further discussion of meanings of interview transcripts to be undertaken with each participant, facilitating co-composition with the researcher in the process of telling their stories. Psychoanalytic reflection and dialogue were incorporated in this approach through supervision, where unconscious aspects of meaning and communication were considered. Eight significant themes and key issues raised by all three narratives are outlined, and consideration is given to ways these findings resonate with or add to the existing knowledge base on parent work in child psychotherapy. A striking feature was the depth of engagement, with participants in touch with strong feelings and energised by the idea of their story contributing to learning in the field. Implications are discussed and the call is made for further direct participatory research with parents.