Witnesses to a violent or traumatic event are considered “secondary victims.” When the “secondary victim” is a child, parents and other caregivers are often unsure of how to respond to the effects of trauma. It is essential for children to be able to talk about their feelings and attempt to … Read More
Strengthening Your Stepfamily: Part 1
In her book, “Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t,” Patricia Papernow, EdD, discusses the five common challenges that a stepfamily can face and offers some straightforward guidance to help address them. In my work with stepfamilies and in my own stepfamily experiences, I have witnessed … Read More
Parenting with Love and Logic
Parenting is not easy. Many of the parents we work with at GROW Counseling are seeking to establish a loving and positive relationship with their children. There are a variety of factors that contribute to building a strong parent-child relationship. In today’s rapidly changing and complex world, it is essential … Read More
Words: Beyond Sticks and Stones
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” I appreciate the spirit of the maxim, the refusal to give credence to critical, spiteful, thoughtless speech. The problem is, it’s not true. Scientific studies, legislation regarding hate speech and even … Read More
Children and the Financial Impact of Divorce: Part 2
Recently, I was asked to be an expert on a podcast with IRC Wealth discussing divorce, finances, and children. I wanted to write a blog series as well discussing the tips that I gave to help ensure that the financial impacts of divorce will have the least impact on your … Read More
Failure and How to Recover
Consider how you treat yourself after you experience failure. Do you engage in self-criticism, shaming thoughts, or take inventory of your shortcomings or bad luck? Now ask yourself how you would treat a good friend who experienced a similar failure. I’ve noticed, we will say things to ourselves that we … Read More
Ease the Back to School Butterflies
As summer comes to an end, you may notice your kids are asking more questions about going back to school and may even have some butterflies about all the upcoming changes. Kids may feel worried about having a new teacher, finding friends to sit with at lunch, or even if … Read More
Children and the Financial Impact of Divorce: Part 1
Recently, I was asked to be an expert on a podcast with IRC Wealth discussing divorce and how to manage the financial impacts that it may have on children. With divorce, decisions made regarding the children are often some of the most difficult. Will we split custody? Where will the … Read More
Redefining Failure: A Conversation with Sara Blakely
Is fail a four-letter word in your vocabulary? Do you define yourself by your failures? Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of Spanx, offers a redefinition of failure. She states, “Failure for me became not trying, versus the outcome.” Our perception of an event and what we think the event means … Read More
Emotion-Coaching Parents: Part 4
In The Science of Trust (2011), Dr. John Gottman identified two different types of parents: “emotion-coaching” parents and “emotion-dismissing” parents. This is the fourth blog of a four-part series, and instead of looking at what it means to be an emotion-coaching parent, this last one will address emotion-coaching your significant … Read More
