Tag: family dynamics
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How Internal Family Systems Therapy Helps Heal Addiction
Addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Beneath the behaviors, there are often deep emotional wounds—trauma, shame, pain, fear—that we try to numb or avoid. These experiences don’t just disappear. They settle inside us and often show up in ways we don’t fully understand. That’s where Internal Family Systems therapy, or IFS, comes in. Internal Family…
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Addiction in the Family: How Substance Abuse Affects Family Health and Dynamics
By Christa Banister There’s no way around it. Substance abuse is not only difficult for the person struggling with addiction, but it’s also rough on family members who rally around their loved one. People all respond differently in any crisis situation. Consciously or unconsciously, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and other extended family are trying…
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Of Mice and Mothers: The Quality of Maternal Care Shapes Offspring Development
By Dr. Jon Caldwell It may surprise you that some of the most compelling information about human attachment behavior comes from…rodents. These little mammalian mothers form attachment-like bonds with their young pups (i.e., rodent infants) like humans. As it turns out, this bond’s nature profoundly impacts the pup’s development. It has become increasingly clear that…
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Recovering From Early Social Adversity: Valuable Lessons from Adopted Orphans
By: Jon G. Caldwell, D.O. During my first meeting with Rebecca (as I will call her), I asked about her family history of mental and emotional difficulties, which can tell me something about her genetic susceptibilities, and about her early life experience with caregivers. These two elements of the evaluation often provide critical information about…