by Christine Hammond on October 12, 2017
The best way to understand this concept is through a story. Ulla complained about her 6-year-old son’s angry behavior so she brought him in for an appointment. At first he seemed fine but then threw a temper tantrum when he did not get his way. “You make me so angry,” he said in direct reference… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on October 12, 2017
Whether the child is 2 or 17 years old, the worst parenting mistake a parent can make is not listening. This presents in a variety of formats. Not listening to their boundaries. When the child has said they don’t want to talk anymore, listen and give them a break. They might need time to process… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on October 12, 2017
Ten years ago, our 8 year old son watched a movie about skydiving and immediately wanted to do it. A quick internet search revealed he needed to be 18 years old before he could jump, providing me with much relief. Thinking there was a lot of time for him to change his mind I agreed… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on October 8, 2017
Paul reluctantly began therapy after a poor review at work. His office did a 360 approach which involved getting input from other team members, clients, and superiors prior to the formal evaluation. The process revealed that Paul lacked effective communication skills, procrastinated unnecessarily, didn’t cooperate well in group settings, and seemed either anxious or angry… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on July 8, 2017
Last week, a father sent an email to me about his teenage daughter. After reading the characteristics of narcissism, he was concerned that she had a narcissistic personality disorder. She would appear to others to be the ideal teenager but at home she acted entitled, superior, and refused to apologize or express any empathy. With… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on June 8, 2017
They appear at just the right time: a broken family torn apart by divorce or death in desperate need of emotional security and starved for normal amounts attention. Enter the narcissist, hidden by a veil of perfection, who immediately endears themselves to every family member (pets included) navigating the personality differences with ease. They are… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on May 13, 2017
There is a lot of talk about dysfunctional moms: those who harm their children, fail to parent, or even over parent. But not so much attention is paid to those moms who are excellent. Some are capable by instinct, others have good modeling from other moms, and others learn from the mistakes of others. These… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on May 6, 2017
The goal of parenting teenagers is to raise fully functioning adults by 18 years old. The age is predetermined by the legal system that declares a person an adult at that age. Therefore, regardless of the emotional maturity of person, they need to be equipped to accept adult responsibility at 18. The problem is that… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on December 30, 2016
Ideally, a child is given the freedom to explore and express their individuality so they can develop into a confident and well-balanced adult. This nurturing environment prioritizes the needs of the child over the parent without overindulgence. But this is not the case when one parent is a narcissist. Most children are unaware of their… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on December 17, 2016
With the definition and examples of narcissism so prevalent in our culture, it is easy to wonder if a child is a budding narcissist. This is especially concerning when those examples are prominent sports athletes, glorified actors/actresses, or dominate leaders in politics or business that the child admires. So how does a person know if… (more…)