My reflections on my father’s ‘good death’, and the profound grief of pregnancy loss and stillbirth. A few short weeks ago, my beloved dad died. He was 87. The sadness I feel is for the knowledge that I will no longer hear his voice, or spend time with him, whether in person or through video call. Dad and I enjoyed a close relationship and, even though I emigrated to Australia 23 years ago, he visited a few times, and we continued to share a connection despite the phys

Understanding parental dysregulation, nervous system overwhelm, and the fight, flight, freeze response. When Your Child’s Distress Feels Emotionally Overwhelming Many parents expect parenting to be emotionally demanding. What they do not expect is how overwhelming it can sometimes feel when their child cries, screams, protests, withdraws, or becomes emotionally distressed. For some parents, their child’s distress can trigger feelings of panic, anger, shutdown, helplessness, o

Why does Mother’s Day feel hard for some people. Mother’s Day can be difficult when there has been loss, estrangement, trauma, or complex relationships with a mother or child. The day can highlight what is missing, unresolved, or painful, especially when social expectations focus only on celebration.

Making sense of difficult family dynamics In some families, there can be a sense that one person holds more control in relationships, or is experienced by others as critical, hard to please, or difficult to be around. At other times, it may not be as clear-cut, but there can still be recurring tensions that seem to circle around similar themes. When this happens, it can be easy for one way of understanding a person to take hold and become quite fixed over time. But family re