Helping my daughter become whom she is meant to be

http://www.handinhandparenting.org/2012/06/helping-my-daughter-become-who-she-is-meant-to-be/

Click on the above link to visit http://www.handinhandparenting.org for this gorgeous and profound account of a mother supporting her 3 year old daughter through manifestations of distress, and thereby in dropping down into re-experiencing/processing and releasing birth trauma – with magical and transformative effect. This is an extraordinarily moving and life-affirming read, about what becomes possible if we can only hold and relate to each other through the core conditions, instead of through the judging/punitive or pathologising lenses favoured by our societies at present. If only every child could receive this quality of engagement and encounter.

This piece is also particularly useful in bringing up the theme of birth trauma, which in swathes of our culture is not even perceived as a real thing, at least not for the child. The comments illustrate the startled resonance of other mothers, catching a glimpse of their own birth process and their child’s possible trauma responses in the mirror of this account.

Hand-in-hand Parenting is a wonderful resource for parents and carers, or anyone who connects with children or parents in their working or personal worlds (which, let’s face it, is pretty much all of us).

Palace Gate Counselling Service, Exeter

Counselling in Exeter since 1994