My guest today is Krissy Pozatek, and she’s here to teach us all about her parallel process method of parenting.  

Krissy starts by sharing how she found herself working with teens in the woods. I ask Krissy how parents decide on wilderness therapy and what it’s really like there. Next, we get into what Krissy’s four foundational principles of parallel process are, including what the adults’ roles are, valuing emotions, keeping & holding boundaries for safety, and how much struggle we allow for our adolescents to experience. I ask Krissy where in her process parents can discover their teen’s belief behind their behavior. We discuss accountability & teaching skills, why we don’t use punishment, and how hard it can be to resist rescuing our adolescents. We wrap up circling back to enmeshment patterns and how it can backfire when you’re fixing everything for your child. 

Takeaways from the show:

• What is parallel process? 
• What is wilderness therapy? 
• Enmeshment between teens & their parents 
• The four foundational principles of parallel process 
• Emotional attunement (connection) 
• Uncovering the feeling (belief) behind the behavior 
• The differences between accountability, teaching skills, & punishments
• The skills learned & benefits that come from safe struggles 
• Resisting the urge to rescue our adolescents
• Grounding & awareness

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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