Will this be the shortest blog post ever written?? The answer is: emotions. Right?? Well, in some sense yes, but there is surely more that complicates parenting than meets the eye. If you are a parent reading this, then you know that and probably winced when you read that first simplistic sentence. While this post is written from a clinician perspective, not a parents, and likely will attempt to categorize some of the complexities into a neat little picture, I also wanted to gain a parental…
Category: For Parents
Social Dynamics – Changing Problematic Patterns
Many issues between couples, parent-child relationships, friends, and colleagues, have to do with problematic patterns in communication and interactions. As humans, with human intentions and human needs, we enter most situations with some purpose. Occasionally, this purpose is known by one of the persons in the exchange; but very often a person enters into a conversation or situation without explicit insight into even their own true intentions and needs. Each exchange with another human carries with it numerous underlying factors. Not only are we dealing with the specific words being exchanged, but…
“Romeo & Juliet” – Emotion, pain, and self-discovery in the teenage years
Emotions run high… And low. Pain is felt profoundly and seems to last forever. Adolescence is a time of change and self-discovery, but for some it is also a time filled with challenging emotions. Emotions that feel all the more powerful because by it’s essence, adolescence lacks the life experience to know that time will heal and things will change. As parents, this is the true message we can impart. Unfortunately, it tends not to be a message received easily through speeches and lectures. Instead reflect with your child on previous…