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Coping with Critical, Demanding, and Dysfunctional Parents

Powerful Strategies to Help Adult Children Maintain Boundaries and Stay Sane
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Coping with Critical, Demanding, and Dysfunctional Parents offers an essential guide for those grappling with invalidating, critical, or toxic parental relationships. Authored by psychotherapist David M Allen and Susan Heitler, this book helps readers understand hidden motives behind harmful behaviours, set effective boundaries, and stop repetitive, hurtful interactions. It provides practical communication strategies tailored to your family dynamics, enabling you to advocate for your own needs and find a path to healthier relationships—or decide when distancing may be necessary.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for adults facing critical, demanding, or otherwise difficult relationships with parents, especially those seeking practical advice to establish boundaries and improve family dynamics. It will also benefit therapists and counsellors looking for clear strategies to support clients with dysfunctional parental ties.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Adult children whose parents are invalidating, critical, demanding, or hateful require skills to advocate for their own needs.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Do you have a parent who is invalidating, critical, demanding, or hateful? In this important and much-needed guide, you'll learn how to set boundaries; uncover the hidden motives behind your parent's behaviour; put a stop to repetitive, hurtful interactions; and foster healthier relationships.

There's no sugarcoating it—if you grew up with a parent who made you feel invalidated or unloved as a child, your pain is very real. In some cases, you may decide that you want to remove this parent from your life, and that is a valid choice. But for many people, dealing with a problem parent becomes a necessary part of life, for whatever reason. If you're one of these people, this book can help.

Written by a psychotherapist and expert in relationships, Coping with Critical, Demanding, and Dysfunctional Parents will help you develop unique assertiveness strategies based on the characteristics of your own family dynamics. You'll learn powerful communication skills to help you build boundaries and put a stop to your parent's hurtful behaviour. And, most importantly, you'll learn to advocate for your own needs.

If you've had it up to here with a parent who makes you feel as though you're just not good enough, this invaluable guide can help you put an end to toxic interactions while maintaining peace in your family.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

George Stricker, PhD, praises the accessible language and concrete examples that demonstrate effective approaches to challenging parental relationships while emphasising the value of preserving and improving these bonds. Reviews highlight the book's scholarly yet practical nature, with thoughtful questions and exercises helping readers understand and escape dysfunctional family patterns to achieve more fulfilling relationships.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781684030927

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 December 2018

Country: United States

Imprint: New Harbinger Publications

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 228.0mm

Weight: 318g

Pages: 240

About the Author

David M Allen (Author)
David M. Allen, MD, is professor emeritus of psychiatry and the former director of psychiatric residency training at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. He is author of the book How Dysfunctional Families Spur Mental Disorders: A Balanced Approach to Resolve Problems and Reconcile Relationships. He has carried out research on personality disorders, is a psychotherapy theorist, and is former associate editor of the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. He is also author of three books for psychotherapists, as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters.

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