“The Power of And”

A message from our clinical director:

It’s hard to avoid all-or-nothing thinking when it comes to supporting your child. A relapse can feel like a reminder that things aren’t getting better- and won’t get better. When processing a teen’s relapse, I often hear “I feel like we’re back to square one” or in the absence of a relapse, I hear, “we’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop.” The mentality is valid when you consider what the family has been through. At FRC, we work with parents to reframe their experience and employ effective language when talking about their teen’s relapse. Even with the best intent, a parent can unknowingly invalidate their teen’s experience and thus create a missed opportunity for meaningful dialogue. Consider this example: You’ve planned a day out with the family amidst several days of struggle, all goes well and everyone reports having a great time. You get home and there appears to be shift in your teen and he/she says, “I just feel down.” You’re immediate response is, “but we had such a great day!” Your intent being to shed light on how great the day was- the interpretation is that feeling down is not okay. Instead focus on both things being true! We had a great day as a family AND it’s okay to experience a shift in mood and feel down in this moment. The importance of a broad perspective is pivotal. Especially when treatment can feel like a “two steps forward, one step back” scenario. As always, our team is ready and willing to help you shift your camera angle!