Do Nothing? Communicate? Leave? When it is time to address issues in a family system, your options come down the three potential solutions. Before you decide, are you willing to fight for this family? Or could you let it go? While we hope for a win/win, we have no power…

Use a self-reflection checklist to determine health of family relationships: Reciprocity: Do I nurture my family relationships? Do I reply to initiated connections in a timely manner?Reliability: Can my family members count on me? Do I keep my promises? Can I be trusted?Respect: Do I respect my family’s values? Do…

There are patterns which emerge in one’s life, circling and returning anew, an endless variation of a theme.― Jacqueline Carey At this point you might want to decide – is this a one, two or three circle family. If less than three, decide what is workable, and what you are willing…

The longer we ignore red flags, pretend they don’t exist, the more we disconnect from ourselves. –Sherrie Campbell If you are questioning a family relationship, especially if you are at the point of debating a reduction in contact or even cutoff, try the flags. Pull from your memories and start…

Use a checklist to determine what is working and what is not working in your family: Reciprocity: Are your family members ready, willing and able to put the work into nurturing your relationship most of the time? Reliability: Can you lean on them when the going gets tough? Are they…

Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it’s the place we find the deepest heartache.  –Iyanla Vansant Respect means non-violation and families can be the place we feel most violated. This can run the gamut from inattentive, distant or neglectful to being verbally, physically and/or sexually abusive. This can…

The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel all alone.  –Robin Williams Reliability is the essence that family is founded upon. We are born helpless and dependent. If the family is predictable and reliable, we can become healthy functioning adults. If not, we tend to…

Someone can love you deeply, but if they don’t have the emotional skills to care for the relationship, it will be a rough road. – Yung Pueblo In families we tend to do what we do because it is what we have always done – even when it is not working. When…

Home is the place where if you have to go there they have to take you in.  –Robert Frost Home should be a safe, soft place to land. For this to work, families must be accountable to the same three essentials – reciprocity, reliability and respect as anyone else. Yet we excuse…

Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage are not always comfortable, but they’re never weaknesses. –Brene’ Brown When it comes to deeper connections and shared vulnerabilities at work, what are the unspoken rules? I was a brand-new affiliate psychology professor on my way to my first…