ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors look at the belief or value systems, which parents may be holding with regard to parenting, to gender, to what constitutes success, or to their child in particular. To help parents with negative parenting patterns, the authors need to recognize the habits, beliefs, and emotions that may be underlying these patterns. The authors talk about the importance of helping parent calm before discussing something difficult and of shifting between analytical and emotional processing to help the parent stay focused with the therapists. They focus on some of the blockages to more positive parenting, trigger reactions, temperaments that differ from their child's, parents' need to defend themselves and their vulnerabilities, and their exhaustion. Through dialogs between their child professional and the parents, the authors explore ways to move through these blockages.
