Emotion-coaching parents are those who see their child’s emotional reaction as an opportunity to engage with them, honor the emotion, and coach them through the accurate and appropriate expression of the emotion – especially the negative ones.
Common Challenges of Stepfamilies
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.
Cultivating Connection in Your Family
Take time to explore which family bonding activity works best for your family and notice how making space for family time can impact your feelings of connectedness.
Seven Tips for Co-Parenting
A child can easily get trapped in the war and conflict of two parents getting a divorce. Some thoughts of children caught between parental conflicts could be “I need to fix the problem,” or “I’m the reason they are fighting.” Neither of which are true from an adult perspective but children experience divorce much different than adults. The best gift you can give your child when divorcing their parent is to do so respectfully and peacefully in the child’s presence.
Coping Skills vs Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are unconscious responses to overwhelming stress in our lives. Although they serve an important purpose, if left unchecked, protective instincts from defense mechanisms can inhibit the development of healthier coping skills. We are going to dive into two common defense mechanisms: denial and regression. Denial One of our … Read More
Defense Mechanisms and Coping Skills
Coping skills can take many forms. They help us make sense of our experiences, mitigate stress, and sustain our sense of self-worth. Sometimes life can feel pretty overwhelming. Without these strategies for managing life’s stressors and sustaining a sense of emotional well-being, it would be difficult to navigate even the … Read More
Laughter as a Coping Strategy
In these seasons and more broadly in general, incorporating humor as a coping strategy can bring some positive color back into daily life.
Overcoming Unkindness
Innocent teasing can be fun but it can quickly cross a line and result in hurt. Compassion is a critical component in overcoming unkindness.
Forgiveness and Your Mental Health
The bottom line is that when people forgive, their thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and health become more positive. Deciding to forgive is a good first step. But, deeper forgiveness will have a greater positive impact on your mental and physical health.
Stress, Self-Care, & Your Kids
Practicing self care as a family supports the relational bond and is a constructive way to model healthy and effective skills to manage future stressors.
