Welcome to Attachment Matters.
Attachment Matters is a conversation between two mothers who are passionate about the subject of attachment, and how in parenting our children, we are offered the opportunity to grow ourselves up. This presents unique challenges to parents of children, adolescents, and young adults who adopt a transgender identity. Our hope is to offer greater insight into how to strengthen the attachment between parents and their children, despite all odds.
In this episode, Rose describes the deficits that appear in someone who’s not integrative, or in other words, what we may notice when someone is not able to mix or temper their emotions. We emphasize that maturation is a developmental process that must unfold and caution against pathologizing immaturity. We also explore what can get in the way of the integrative process and encourage noticing where, instead of trying to cut something unpleasant out, we might consider what we can add in to temper ourselves and model integration.
Works cited
The construct of maturation & development we cover in Season 2 is drawn from the Neufeld Institute Intensive 1 Course. Here is an Intensive 1 Preview Video (Part 3 of 3) that gives a taste of the experience of taking Intensive 1 as a live online course with Neufeld faculty. It is full of rich and simple take-aways that reinforce what we cover in our episodes!
Questions for reflection
What new insights, if any, did you take away from this episode? How does the concept of tempering emotions connect with prior knowledge or insights you already had, and if so, how?
For further reflection
Where has all the maturity gone, and why have so few noticed it’s lack? Dr. Gordon Neufeld. This short editorial, written in 2017, is very much worth the read!
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