Fairfax Open Circle Arts and Sports (FOCAS) is presenting two classes for parents this fall, with a new series of presentations called “Building a Happy Home.” The first class is led by marriage and family therapist and Fairfax resident George Taylor, who has worked with many couples on issues of clear communication, power struggles, and co-creativity in his 25 years as a therapist.
“Couples want to create a happy home for their families. Often though they get bogged down in predictable, repetitive power struggles. With a few tools and practices, they can learn to practice new levels of creativity and cooperation. If you feel loved and loving, it doesn’t matter who takes out the garbage,” observes Taylor.
Taylor has studied creativity and cooperation in his own 30-year marriage, and with hundreds of couples in his practice. His class will be practical, interactive and supportive. “Most parents want to give their family more creativity, and generosity. I can help you with these goals at this class.”
The first presentation, "From Power Struggle to Collaboration: Creating Family Goals," takes place at Fairfax Community Center (next to Peri Park) from 7–9 pm on Wednesday, October 3, 2012. Each session is $20 per couple (or $10 per person). Sessions are geared for parents with children 0–10 years old, and it's highly recommended that both parents attend.
Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Rebecca Wood Breen, LCSW, Parents Place Coordinator, Marin County. She highlights some of the programs and services offered to Marin parents by the Parents Place in San Rafael.
Your 2-year-old constantly throws himself on the floor when he doesn’t get what he wants. Your 5-year-old torments her 3-year-old sister. Your 13-year-old won’t speak to her step-father. And you’re so worn out from managing one domestic crisis after another that going to work in the morning seems like a vacation.What can you do?
Parents Place in Marin County can’t take you away from your challenges and problems, but we can help you resolve them and make life better for yourself and your family. We gear all of our programs toward practical, effective, easy-to-implement solutions that are custom-tailored to meet your family’s specific needs. Our range of services includes:
Support for expectant and new parents, including a free New Moms’ Support Group, Preparing for Childbirth with Yoga couples workshops, Infant Sleep and Infant Massage workshops, and breastfeeding support. We recognize the importance of support and community during this exciting and challenging transition.
Marin Mommies is happy to present the first in a series of guest articles by Marin marriage and family therapist Kate Brennan.
Staying connected to children when they express strong emotions can be a challenge. Our very first impulse may be to get a tantrum to stop. This is a natural impulse. Tantrums are often loud, inconvenient and stressful for parents. What if we were to turn our usual response on its head? Rather than distractions, time outs, threats or bribes, we did something radical. We moved in a little closer.
Children are most vulnerable to tantrums when they are tired, hungry, over stimulated, frightened etc. These are the triggers that may set off a tantrum. But if we dig a little deeper we see that these triggers are not the real issue. The child is feeling disconnected and off track. The child is releasing accumulated tensions that have built up. This release is a natural and healthy part of development.
Lets use an adult as an example. (We’re not much different.) It’s been a long week. You didn’t get the promotion you had hoped for. You get a flat tire. You are late for a meeting, and now you’ve just spilled coffee on yourself. At that moment you begin to cry. All the pent up emotion wells up in you and you release the tension by crying. (It should be noted that some people yell or pick a fight at this time. This is not unlike what some children do. What underlies this however, are feelings of disappointment, frustration, isolation, disconnection and hopelessness.)
This guest article is by Marin County therapist, writer, and mom Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT.
If you’re married with children—and your life is a whirling dervish of chaos as you struggle to keep all of the balls in the air—this is for you. In all that you do for your kids, career and hopefully self, are you forgetting anyone? Is there a special person who no longer gets the amount and quality of attention they used to “pre-kids?” Hmmm???
I’ve heard it over and over. Couples come into my office disconnected in their marriages and upon closer inspection, it’s revealed that after children landed on their radar, their relationship changed. As reasonable and expected as this is when children arrive on the scene, many forget to return to caring for their marriages. The reality is your relationship needs care in order for your family to thrive.
Fairfax Open Circle Arts and Sports (FOCAS) is presenting two classes for parents this fall, with a new series of presentations called “Building a Happy Home.” The first class is led by marriage and family therapist and Fairfax resident George Taylor, who has worked with many couples on issues of clear communication, power struggles, and co-creativity in his 25 years as a therapist.
Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Rebecca Wood Breen, LCSW, Parents Place Coordinator, Marin County. She highlights some of the programs and services offered to Marin parents by the Parents Place in San Rafael.
Marin Mommies is happy to present the first in a series of guest articles by Marin marriage and family therapist Kate Brennan.
This guest article is by Marin County therapist, writer, and mom Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT.
