Family Dynamics
Every client you work with will have a slightly different idea of what it means to exist within a family. And the way those families are formed, whether by marriage, divorce, genetics, or choice, will be as varied as your clients themselves. Articles in this category explore how the relational patterns we're born into ultimately shape our view of, and experiences with, the world and ourselves. These articles follow clients through DNA surprises, family transitions, conflicted sibling ties, and the quiet rituals that hold familial relationships together. Throughout, you'll find stories and insights into therapy's role in helping real families that have lived, clashed, and grown together across the lifespan.
When DNA Testing Rewrites Your Story
Processing Unexpected Genetic Discoveries in Therapy
With so many newer approaches focusing on here-and-now experiences, are we forgetting about psychotherapy’s foundation of exploring childhood wounds? Read more
A family with stark religious differences finds its way. Read more
Is there anything trickier for modern-day parents than separating a 13-year-old from an iPhone, even if it’s just for a few days? Read more
Author Lindsay Gibson reveals how exploring our parents’ emotional lack of maturity can free us up to become more emotionally mature ourselves. Read more
When a hoarding mother won’t face her illness, what choice does a daughter have? Read more
How remarried families can reexamine their roles. Read more
Eve Rodsky is on a mission: to rebalance the "mental load" that many women still unfairly shoulder in domestic life, affecting their physical health... Read more
A fundamental change has been percolating in how adult children and their aging parents interact. Read more
Networker sits down with Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play, to discuss the invisible work of domestic life. Read more
As time rushes forward, a diary promises the chance to slow things down. Read more
The session was supposed to be a consultation between two middle-aged sisters—my client, Annie, and her sister, Carol—about sharing their multigenerational... Read more
The ordinary moments of life reveal the true wonders of a mother–daughter relationship. Read more
Some clients in quarantine with their families report a constant feeling of being out of control. That danger lurks around the corner of every family... Read more
A new book explores the reality of home DNA testing and the often unexpected fallouts. Read more
When a mother and daughter are cut from different cloths, can they still hang in the same closet? Read more
Successfully combining families as part of remarriage is always challenging. But it's especially hard when older re-couplers have adult children, who may or... Read more
When it comes to treating anxious kids, the same rules for treating anxious adults don’t apply. According to therapist Lynn Lyons, you might not only... Read more
Whether as playmate, protector, or tormentor, a big sister looms large in the imagination of her younger sibling. Read more
Sometimes you learn your most important life lessons from the person who most frustrates and disappoints you. Read more
To my mother, who inherited the holiday after my grandmother's death, producing the seder was nothing short of a colossal chore—a feeling she'd communicate... Read more
Sometimes family legacies can stir up complicated feelings and outright conflict. Read more
In search of the stories that can bind a family together. Read more
Does sharing DNA with a total stranger automatically make him family? Read more
Patricia Papernow, an expert in working with stepfamilies, helps us understand the fundamental issues and unique hurdles most stepfamilies must navigate. Read more
After a lifetime of conflict, a son faces the question of what he owes his mother. Read more
A son’s decision to get married is a rite of passage for the entire family. Read more
A son remembers a distant father and the bittersweet ritual that bonded them. Read more
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