Coaching Your Family Relationships

Send us a message Episode 239: When Your Adult Child Slowly Pulls Away: What Parents Need to Know Your adult child used to call regularly. You spent time together, shared stories, and felt connected. But lately, the phone calls have become less frequent, texts go unanswered, and visits feel shorter or more distant. Nothing happened that you can point to, yet something in your relationship has chan...

Send us a message Episode 238: When to Stop Helping Your Adult Child: Why Letting Go is So Hard You know your adult child needs to become more independent, but every time you try to step back, the worry, guilt, and anxiety pull you right back in. Maybe you're still paying bills, solving problems, offering advice, or stepping in whenever your adult child struggles. You want them to become conf...

Send us a message Episode 237 - Why Your Family Keeps Repeating the Same Patterns of Conflict and Distance Have you ever wondered why your family keeps having the same arguments, falling into the same roles, or getting stuck in the same patterns over and over again? Maybe you keep ending up in conflict with your adult child. Maybe one person in the family takes on too much responsibility while som...

Send us a message If your adult child keeps bringing up painful memories from the past, you may be wondering, Why can’t they just let it go? Haven’t I apologized enough? How many times do we have to talk about the same thing? For many parents of adult children, these conversations can quickly lead to guilt, shame, defensiveness, frustration, or even fear that nothing they do will ever be enough. W...

Send us a message Episode 235: Why So Many Families Are Falling Apart Right Now If it feels like more families are becoming estranged, going no contact, or struggling to stay connected, you are not imagining the conversation happening around you. Family estrangement is everywhere right now. Parents are hearing stories about adult children cutting off contact, setting stronger boundaries, or redefi...

Send us a message Episode 234: Failure to Launch: How to Help Your Young Adult Move Forward, with Colin and Hayley from Not Therapy If your adult child is living at home, struggling to find motivation, avoiding work or school, or seems stuck while everyone around them is moving forward, you may be wondering what to do next. Do you push harder? Set firmer boundaries? Stop helping? Are you supportin...

Send us a message Episode 232: How to Repair Your Relationship with Your Adult Child After Hurt or Conflict: Helpful Therapy Words, part 3 What happens after a painful conversation with your adult child may matter just as much as what happened during it. If a disagreement ends badly, your adult child says you hurt them, or distance has started growing between you, it can be tempting to wait for th...

Send us a message Episode 232: How to Help Your Adult Child Feel Heard and Emotionally Safe: Helpful Therapy Words, part 2 Your adult child may be telling you they don't feel heard, understood, or emotionally safe with you. And if you're a parent who genuinely loves your child and wants a close relationship, those words can be painful and confusing. You may be thinking, I am listening. I...

Send us a message Episode 231: How to Let Go of Control Without Losing Connection: Helpful Therapy Words, part 1 When your adult child is making choices you disagree with, pulling away, or asking for space, it can feel almost impossible not to step in, explain yourself, fix the problem, or try to change their mind. But what if strengthening your relationship with your adult child requires somethin...

Send us a message Episode 230: Your Adult Child Calls You a Narcissist: What Are They Really Trying to Say? If your adult child has called you a narcissist or emotionally immature, you may feel hurt, confused, defensive, or unsure what those words actually mean. These terms are showing up more often in conversations about difficult parent-adult child relationships, but they are not interchangeable...

Send us a message Episode 229: My Adult Child Says I Trigger Them: What Should I Do? What does it mean when your adult child says, “You’re triggering me”? For many parents, hearing this word can feel confusing, painful, and disorienting. You may wonder what you said wrong, whether you caused a trauma response, or whether it is still possible to have an honest conversation without making things wor...

Send us a message Episode 228: My Adult Child Says I Traumatized Them: What Should I Do? When your adult child says you traumatized them, it can feel like a judgment on your entire history as a parent. You may feel confused, defensive, ashamed, angry, or desperate to explain what really happened. But the word trauma does not automatically mean you were an abusive parent or that everything you did...

Send us a message Episode 227: My Adult Child Says I'm Gaslighting Them. What Do I Do? When your adult child says you are gaslighting them, it can feel like an accusation against your entire character as a parent. You may immediately want to defend yourself, explain what really happened, or prove that your memory is accurate. But when both people are fighting to establish the “correct” versio...

Send us a message Episode 226: My Adult Child Said I was Toxic. What Do I Do With That? Hearing your adult child describe you, your parenting, or your family as “toxic” can feel like a complete rejection of who you are. You may immediately want to defend yourself, explain your intentions, or prove that their version of the past is wrong. But the way you respond in that moment can either deepen the...

Send us a message Episode 225: What Does It Mean When Your Adult Child Says You Don’t Respect Their Boundaries? Has your adult child ever told you that you crossed a boundary or that you do not respect their boundaries and left you feeling confused, hurt, or defensive? Many parents hear the word “boundary” as an accusation. You may wonder how your questions, advice, concern, or attempts to stay in...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 224 - Why Adult Children Go No Contact: Understanding Family Estrangement, with Dr. Rin Reczek Are you wondering why your adult child went no contact, pulled away, or says they need space from the family? This episode will help you understand family estrangement without getting stuck in blame, shame, or panic. Famil...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 223: When Someone You Love Hurts You: How to Regain Emotional Stability Have you ever been doing something completely ordinary—loading the dishwasher, making dinner, driving home—and then one text, one comment, one moment of distance hits you so hard it feels like the air leaves your body? That’s the “emotional gut...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 222:  When Love Feels Like Pressure: The Hidden Conflict in Helping Too Much  What if the very thing you are doing to keep the relationship close is the thing creating more distance? As parents, we often help because we love. We give advice, offer solutions, send resources, ask questions, check in, and try to preven...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 221 - Hidden Conflict: Why Your Family Feels Tense Even When No One is Fighting What if your family relationship feels tense, distant, or uncomfortable, but you can’t point to one big argument or obvious conflict? Many parents assume that conflict means yelling, fighting, blow-ups, or harsh words. But some of the mo...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 220 : Grandfatherhood and Legacy: How to Be Involved Without Interfering What kind of presence do you bring into your family? When you walk into a room, do people relax, or do they brace? Do your adult children feel supported by you, or do they feel like they have to manage your reactions? Do your grandchildren expe...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 219: Fatherhood After Your Kids Grow Up: Who Are You to Them Now? What happens to fatherhood after your children grow up? When your adult child has a hard day, who do they call? Do they call you, or do they turn to their mom, a friend, a sibling, or someone else? If the honest answer hurts a little, this episode is...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 218: How to Focus on What You Can Control When Family Relationships Are Hard When a relationship is strained, it’s so tempting to think: If I say it the right way… if I do enough… if I stay kind enough… then they’ll finally respond the way I need them to. But the truth is, you can’t control what someone else thinks,...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 127 - Lazy or Stuck? Why Your Adult Child Avoids Life and How to Respond If you’re staring at a “failure to launch” situation and thinking, “Are they lazy… or are they stuck?” — you’re not alone. When an adult child avoids responsibility, avoids work, or keeps waiting for rescue, it can feel confusing and infuriatin...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast Episode 216 - Boundaries with Your Adult Child: Stepping Back When You're Used to Being Needed If you're a parent of an adult child and you're still worrying, managing, advising, and rescuing — this episode is for you. Today we're diving deep into the over-functioning parent dynamic: what it is, why it h...

Ask a question, send us a message, or let us know how you like the podcast When Mother’s Day Isn’t Happy: Naming the Grief No One Sees Mother’s Day is everywhere. Flowers at the grocery store, brunch photos, smiling cards, and you are doing your best to hold it together while something inside you feels heavy.  Maybe your adult child is distant. Maybe the relationship is strained. Maybe they will t...