Why focus on Whole Self-Care for kids?
Most of my clients have come to therapy unaware of an additional challenge they are facing- the compounding distress stemming from not having been taught healthy self-care as children. These gaps in self-care range from the simpler ones, like not having a bed-time routine, to nuanced ones like insufficient personal boundary management. I am repeatedly struck by the toll on mental health not only from causes such as early trauma, developmental complications and recent life events, but from the impacts of not having been taught healthy self care growing up. Learning as a kid paves the way for developing self-care for a lifetime!
My work has also been shaped by what I have surmised about my clients’ caregivers; serious gaps in their self-care awareness. Some of my clients’ suffering as children may have resulted from their caregivers’ inability to care sufficiently for themselves.
My writing, presentations, and songs are guided by my reflections on my clients’ histories and trajectories, and what I wished they had been given as children. While hoping to reach the children and caregivers of today and tomorrow, I have dedicated this project to the children that my clients used to be.
