Hey there!
I want to answer one of my most frequently asked questions:
Is it worth it for me to learn enlightened coparenting if I am coparenting with a narcissist?

Parents with pathological narcissism tend to engage in behavior that is damaging toward the other parent and children. It is not so much the loss of contact with the child that triggers them as their experience that that person should be available to them and is  not. They experience the loss of what the child provided to them.

These are the characteristics I see in these situations.

See if you recognize any of these characteristics:
Treat child as an extension of themselves, not as a unique individual with their own needs and feelings different from the parents.

Fighting over issues big and small.

Overreaction and drama to imagined slights.

When threatened with the loss of control over their own children, they look to the child to have their own ego needs for love and approval met.

Self absorbed and unresponsive to their...

Just wanted to say Hi and let you know why I so wholeheartedly believe in the Enlightened CoParenting Approach. 

Self Compassion Guide

What Does It Mean to Be Self Compassionate?

Through our thoughts and our behavior we treat ourselves with the same care and kindness as we would someone we love and care for. 

Self Compassion involves listening to our needs, rather than primarily focusing on what others want us to do or what the outside world dictates.

Goal for this Self-Compassion Exercise

Become aware of how you show yourself compassion and use this as a starting point for introducing more self-compassion. 

The Physical Component

Allowing your muscles to soften, release the tension from your body.

How do you care for your body?

What are some ways in which you could release tension and stress in the physical sense, or what are some techniques that already work?

The Mental Component

Not trying to regulate your thoughts, allowing them to come and go.

How do you care for yourself mentally?

How could you allow thoughts to come and go with greater ease: less regulation, less fighti...

"One of the hardest parts of healing from past relationships, is learning to trust ourselves again."

When we subconsciously play out patterns in adult relationships that we learned from growing up in our families of origin, subconsciously hoping to heal the pain from those early days, and these adult relationships have led to heartbreak and pain - it makes us afraid to trust ourselves again.

Do you remember the last time you felt certain that you were doing what was best for you?

After a painful break-up we have an enormous opportunity to dive deeper into connection with our authentic selves  and regain trust in ourselves. 

How can we learn to trust ourselves again?

Through forgiveness and self-compassion.

Remember that every path you’ve walked, every choice you’ve made has provided you lessons that you can now use here, now, today!

The amazing fact that you notice your doubt in yourself means you are in the process of waking up to the patterns that are no longer adaptive and no lo...

Ideas about Marriage were passed down to us from the generations of family before us. 

Some say divorce is a sign of failure, or being a quitter, a lack of commitment and courage.  

You know that is not true. 

Divorce does not mean failure. 

 CoParenting does not mean an unhappy childhood. 

Enlightened CoParenting is a method that enables you and your children to emerge from divorce happy and whole.

Self-Esteem is one ingredient we can increase in children to contribute to their well-being.  While it is just one element it is an important one.  That is why I created this FREE resource: Promoting Positive Self-Esteem In Children After Divorce Packet and Journal. Do check it out because it includes simple strategies to start making a difference in your child's life today.

Many different things have brought you to this crossroads  

A holistic understanding of our lives over time requires us to reflect upon the many, many factors that will shape our lives over tim...

The topic of how to promote positive self esteem in teens after parents divorce is one my clients bring up often.

The teen years are complex and nearly all parents have had some concern at one time or another about their teen’s well-being.  This concern increases when teens are living through a parent’s divorce. Parents worry they have added additional stressors to an already intense transition period making it harder for their teen to cope.

There has been quite a bit of research over the past decade into depression and suicidal behavior among adolescents. This research has uncovered evidence of a relationship between self-esteem, hopelessness, and loneliness and it's relationship with depression and suicide attempt behavior in teens.

These studies suggest that we pay careful attention to an adolescent's self-esteem and especially so when they are missing out on the emotional and social support offered by peer and/or family relation-ships which can occur with divorce.

Adoles...

As parents, there are a few things that we all want our children to feel…

...able ✔️

...worthy ✔️

...accepted ✔️

But for parents considering, going through, or who have already divorced, sometimes it feels that your family won’t be able to emerge happy and whole.  

As a psychologist and former family law attorney, I have spent two decades working with individuals and families to help them emerge from divorce with happiness and confidence.

And now I want to give away that knowledge inside this FREE guide:

📣 Promoting Positive Self-Esteem In Children 📣

Helping parents everywhere raise happy, healthy and confident children, in this guide you will discover:

✨ How self-esteem plays a role in childhood 

✨ How their self-esteem influences their choices and relationships later in life

✨ A comprehensive strategy including 8 Steps you should take to help your child develop positive self-esteem

✨ Examples of situations and dialogue drawn from real coparenting fami...