January can be a symbolic time for some to reflect on where they are now and where they would like to be in 12 months. However, for those struggling with family issues, such is the scale and impact of these that it can keep them feeling stuck in their heads and hearts, irrespective of the time of year. And this can then contaminate other areas of life.

One example of this was a participant from my 2021 estrangement study who became so distracted by her family situation that she started to make mistakes at work. Naturally, this upset her greatly, as her career was very important to her, and now this was compromised by family problems with no solutions.

This exchange with her and many others prompted me to focus on finding strategies to help my clients create as much internal distance from the family situation and reclaim differents aspects of their lives, from health, career and relationships.

Below are five examples of ways to PARK an estrangement which I encourage my clients to try. Some were already part of their self-care approach, but some were new to them, and like anything, it takes time and patience to make them work.

With that in mind, the theme of the next Online Estrangement Support Clinic will be how to make these parking strategies (and others) work for attendees.

The next clinic is scheduled for January 25th (Thursday) from 8pm to 10.30pm (GMT, Irish/UK time). I have added another 30 minutes to the session to give us time to do some work and ensure everyone can share their thoughts and experiences.

I was blown away by how open and generous the last group were, and the feedback has been universally positive. In particular, they shared how listening to similar stories of difficult family dynamics and their impact helped them feel understood and, in a sense, ‘normal’. This is due to the closed-door and isolated nature of family issues and how many believe no one else could be dealing with the same issues. These clinics give me an opportunity to show how these issues can literally affect anyone.

With that said, I’m going to run the support clinics every six weeks as long as they continue to benefit all who take part in them.

If you wish to attend the January Clinic, click here for more details and to secure your spot.

Feel free to share this, and as always, take care.

Karl