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.

Heather Coleman 2/27/25 Heather Coleman 2/27/25

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.

Heather Coleman 2/22/25 Heather Coleman 2/22/25

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.