We are all hardwired to love and need our parents and parental relationships inform every single relationship that we will ever have. Parental relationships affect our self-esteem and self-worth, our view of the world and other people. They impact every aspect of our lives into adulthood, so the role of parents in our lives cannot be overstated.
Yet, many of my clients have struggled with parents who make having a loving, respectful, reciprocal relationship hard, and sometimes impossible.
I believe parents love their children in the way they can and are doing what they can with what they have. However, some parents have more to give then others. It isn’t helpful to blame parents but rather to see and accept their strengths and limitations as they are, while using healthy boundaries to protect oneself.
Are your parents controlling, rejecting, or self-involved? Do they lack empathy, make you feel like you are wrong all the time or shame you? Do you feel like their love is conditional?
Enter Lindsay Gibson, Psy.D. author of“Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting or Self-Involved Parents”.
Dr. Gibson literally wrote the book on these kinds of parental relationships and after listening to her speak on a podcast, I was so impressed by her non-pathologizing approach and knowledge base that I enrolled in her training course. I have included the link to the podcast below and encourage you to give it a listen.
https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/lindsay-gibson-497
Do you hear your personal experience in this podcast? If so, we might have some things to talk about.
Please call or email me for a free 15-minute consultation to see if I am a fit for you.
Citations:
Gibson, L. C. (2022). Adult children of emotionally immature parents: How to heal from distant, rejecting, or self-involved parents. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Harris, Dan (Host). (2022, September 12). How to Deal With Emotionally Immature Parents (Including Maybe Your Own Parents) [Episode 497]. In Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris from art19. https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/lindsay-gibson-497
Things can get better. Talking helps.
Contact me and book an appointment today.
