What is the hardest thing about parenting children with mental illness? Some things are harder in the moment, while other things are harder to bear over time. For parents like myself whose struggling children do not respond to treatment and/or accommodations relatively quickly, ambiguous grief can be especially devastating. Precious childhoods are lost forever to endless … [Read more...]
Parenting, Looking Back & What I Would Have Done Differently
People often ask me what I would have done differently as a parent if I could go back and start over. I can quickly generate a very long list, but of course there is no way to actually know what might or might not have made a difference in preventing or at least reducing their burden of depression and anxiety. As I now witness several of my nieces and nephews entering middle or … [Read more...]
Think:Kids: An Overview of Group Parent Therapy Program
In light of Oprah’s 60 Minutes piece on trauma-informed care that ran on PBS March 11, 2018 (which I highly recommend), I wanted to share my family’s somewhat untypical experience with trauma, mental illness and the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) model. Childhood trauma such as sexual abuse or sudden death of a parent can increase a person’s vulnerability to mental … [Read more...]