Julie Cipes, LPC, LLC

06/22/2024

Respect is a slippery slope. It’s a private experience that may, or may not, pair with a matching outward expression. Parents of a certain age (🙋‍♀️) have been trained to believe that respect is obedience and an acceptable tone of voice. These parents are quick to demand respect (a behavior) without garnering the coinciding internal expression. The hard truth is, honest emotional expression in children and teens LOOKS like disrespect. We must be careful not shut down strong feelings at home, operating on the misbelief we are teaching respect, because what we are really teaching is emotional suppression, and that’s a hard lesson to undo.

04/04/2024

03/23/2024

I know there’s a lot of Gen Xers that think our parents did something right when they gave us the message that strong feelings were not to be tolerated, but learning how to manage, as opposed to stuff, emotions are two entirely different processes. If your child is not afraid to talk with you about big feelings, you are doing something right. And, if your child is not afraid to show you big feelings, regardless of how unappealing the sequential behavior might be, you score major brownie points in the area of emotional connection, which is at the crux of all healthy and sustainable relationships.

03/07/2024

PERIODT

03/02/2024

Does this sound like anyone’s anxiety, because it sure sounds a lot like the Worry parts I’m familiar with. compares anxiety to a cult leader, and I don’t think this comparison could be more spot-on. HOW does one remove themselves from a cult? Question the leader, consider alternative perspectives and connect with others outside of the group. Whatever you do, don’t agree with what the leader says. Even though they may appear to have your best interest at heart (“Don’t do that, it COULD be dangerous!”), they really only have their self-interest in mind. Worry is a self-involved narcissist with one goal…to grow itself. It’s game: get YOU to pay attention to its content. Your move: pivot and go in the opposite direction. What other metaphors could you use to help your young one understand how Worry works?

02/27/2024