Healing Parent-Child Estrangement: Transforming Conflict into Reconnection
Parent-child estrangement is a deeply painful and complex issue, with recent reports indicating that as many as 1 in 4 families are affected. Understanding and addressing these relational wounds can significantly enhance not just clients’ mental health, but the health of the entire family system. This interactive workshop equips clinicians to intervene at three key leverage points: mapping the negative interaction cycle that drives disconnection, healing the underlying shame and fear that fuel it, and guiding families toward conversations grounded in curiosity, accountability, and calm power, Participants will leave with the ability to spot behaviors that widen the gap, teach clients how to own their part without self-condemnation, and scaffold concrete next steps that honor safety while reopening doors to a relationship.
This course is designed for clinicians seeking to enhance their therapeutic toolkit with practical, advanced techniques for addressing parent-child estrangement. Human services staff, pastoral counselors, and members of the community are highly encouraged to attend alongside mental health professionals."
Program Highlights
· Research-based explanations of why perceptions of abuse diverge so sharply between generations,
· Effective communication strategies for resolving conflicts between parents and adult children.
· Assessment tools to confidently determine when repair is possible and when boundaries are necessary for both a client’s and a parent's mental health,
· Application of the Negative Cycles model to case vignettes to diagram protective moves, hidden emotions, and turning points.
· Techniques to shift a worried caregiver’s language into curiosity, validation, and permission-based influence.
· Strategies for guiding families to identify and articulate underlying emotions such as sadness, fear, shame, and disgust.
· Methods for turning resistance into productive discussions, and transforming negative emotions into opportunities for growth and reconnection,
Important Facts
· Who: Mental health professionals, human services staff, pastoral counselors, and members of the community.
· When: Monday, June 29, 2026 Check in and Coffee 8:30 AM Workshop Starts 9:00 AM Workshop Ends 11:00 AM
· Where: Columbus Learning Center Lecture Hall.
· Cost: There is no cost for this workshop due to the generous support of Community Downtown
· Continuing Education: Two continuing education credits from Indiana University Columbus for Indiana Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, Clinical Addictions Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers. Attendance for the entire workshop, completion of a 15-question post-test to assess comprehension of the material and evaluation of the workshop are required to receive continuing education credit.
