Why we don’t work on children… And yet still do
In this episode of The Mind Change Podcast, Heather McKean and Kent McKean tackle the complex interplay between child and adolescent development and the Mind Change method.
Heather and Kent start by discussing the reasons behind their cautious approach to working directly with children, emphasizing the necessity for primary caregivers to engage in their own therapeutic journeys first. The Mckeans detail how children's brain development influences their responses to therapy and how deeply the home environment and parental behavior affect children's mental and physical health.
Transitioning to adolescence, the conversation shifts to the nuances of brain development during these formative years and its impact on identity formation and behavioral changes. Heather and Kent explore how teenagers' behavior can often trigger unresolved issues in their parents, leading to conflict. They stress the importance of parents understanding these developmental stages to better support their children, manage their own expectations, and create a nurturing environment that acknowledges and addresses underlying familial traumas.
This episode provides a deep dive into why holistic family healing is essential and how transformative changes in parents can significantly benefit child development.
In this episode, you will learn:
🧠 The complexities of working with children in therapy.
🌱 The critical role of parental healing in children's development.
👨👩👧👦 How family dynamics influence a child’s mental and physical health.
📚 The stages of brain development and their implications for behavior.
🛡️ Strategies for fostering resilience and healthy coping mechanisms in children.
🆔 The impact of parental behavior on adolescent identity formation.
🔗 How improving parental well-being can have a ripple effect on the entire family.
📚 Get Heather’s book - “Mind Change: Changing The World One Mind At A Time”
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🌄 Retreats
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