Blog
Want to learn better coping skills? More about the ACoA experience or living with family dysfunction? How to become a healthier and happier person and live a fuller life? Explore Heather’s writings and videos on various topics of mental health.
Becoming One’s Own Loving Parent: How an ACoA Can Start the Journey
Heather Coleman, LCSW, a psychotherapist practicing in NY, NJ and CT, describes the way to start working with the inner critical parent voice (or inner critic) and to develop an internal loving parental voice. The ACoA can begin the journey of reparenting themselves with care, love and support.
The Dishonesty Conundrum: Why do Adult Children of Alcoholics lie?
Adult children of alcoholics often lie when it would be easier to tell the truth. How does this happen? Parents model behavior to their own children; if you consider that alcoholism often includes deception, secrecy and twisted truths, then you can see the straight line from kids observing their parents behavior and then mimicking that behavior themselves. Moreover, in alcoholic homes, it may have been unsafe for children to tell the truth.
Reparenting with Self-Care
Heather Coleman, LCSW talks about how to reparent one’s self and begin the process
ACoAs & Mindful Parenting Tips: Growing Up in a Dysfunctional Family
Heather Coleman, LCSW discusses the challenges and skills necessary to parent from love and kindness
ACoA (Adult Children of Alcholics) Coping Strategy — How to Say No and Mean It
Heather Coleman, LCSW discusses how to set boundaries when this wasn’t necessarily a skills taught in dysfunctional family systems
Why It’s Hard for ACoAs (Adult Children) to Feel Feelings
Heather Coleman, LCSW discusses why it can be hard for ACoAs to feel feelings and regulate their emotional lives
Reparenting Yourself in the Present Moment—Techniques and Exercises for Adult Children
Heather Coleman, LCSW explains techniques and methods for beginning the process of reparenting one’s self.
Start your journey
The hardest part is taking the first step