Parent/Child Relationships

Quite a lot of my clients come to me wondering how to navigate and heal their tenuous relationship with their parent or child. There are resources here for both children and parents, first I list resources for children, and then for parents. You may actually find it helpful to explore things from the others’ side of view, as well.

For Children

Navigating relationships with parents can be really hard, especially when there’s misunderstanding, hurt, or unmet needs. It’s okay to need space to protect your well-being, even when part of you wishes things were different. These relationships can be complicated, and you don’t have to figure them out alone. These resources offer tools to help you process your experience, understand family dynamics, and explore ways to set boundaries or reconnect in ways that feel safe and right for you.

• Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson (book)

• Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson (book)

• Self-Care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson (book)

• Disentangling from Emotionally Immature People by Lindsay C Gibson, (book)

• Identity Development With Dr. Lindsay Gibson: (podcast)

  Host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Dr. Lindsay Gibson. Lindsay explains how our identity and sense of self form around attachment experiences in childhood and the challenge of focusing on our own self care needs when we were raised in an environment where our emotional needs were unmet.

• Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents - Lindsay C Gibson Interview: (video,51m43s)

  Lindsay Gibson explains how she came to create this series to help others understand what they are experiencing. She explains the five common factors of emotional immaturity and discusses in depth how to navigate this kind of relationship.

For Parents

When a child distances themselves or cuts ties, it can feel deeply painful, confusing, and unfair. You might struggle to understand the reasons behind their decision or feel that their perspective doesn’t align with your own. These resources are designed to help you explore possible causes of estrangement, offer insights into your child’s experience, and provide guidance on how to navigate this difficult relationship with empathy, self-awareness, and hope for repair.

• The Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict (book) by Joshua Coleman: Joshua Coleman, who reconciled with his adult daughter, writes from the parental perspective why parents and kids become estranged, and how they can heal those relationships.

• Healing the Pain of Estrangement or Alienation (video, 5m01s) by Dr Joshua Coleman: Dr Joshua Coleman describes the way to heal is through feeling the pain. A longer version, 5 Most Common Mistakes of Estranged/Alienated Parents-How to Heal Them (video, 1h10s), adds higher level of insight into how parents and children can reconcile.