Helping Children with Troubled Parents

This book provides essential strategies for helping children cope with the emotional fallout from troubled parents, fostering their wellbeing and resilience.

In Helping Children with Troubled Parents, the author delves into the emotional struggles faced by children whose wellbeing is compromised due to their parents' issues. When parents are overwhelmed by their own challenges, they often neglect their child's fundamental relational needs, such as soothing, validation, and engagement. This neglect can lead to children feeling unsafe and unsupported, as they grapple with the chaotic emotional landscape created by their parents' troubles.

The book serves as a guide for practitioners aiming to assist these children. Many of them carry the heavy burden of their parents' emotional states, resulting in a tangled web of painful feelings. The author emphasizes that children may perceive their parents as sources of alarm rather than comfort, which can profoundly impact their sense of safety and security. This disconnect can have lasting effects, often manifesting as self-destructive behaviors in adolescence, including substance abuse, depression, and anxiety.

Helping Children with Troubled Parents offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the complexities of children's emotions and provides practical interventions. It addresses the consequences of family breakdowns, parental conflicts, and mental health issues. Readers will gain insights into how to help children articulate their feelings of hurt and fear, empower them to reclaim their voices, and facilitate meaningful connections between parents and children, ultimately guiding them toward healing and resilience.