Tabitha Westbrook

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The Clown Family Role: When You’re Always the Funny One

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What is the Clown Family Role? If you have always been the funny one, the clown family role may feel familiar. Also known as the family mascot, this is one of several dysfunctional family roles a child can take on to survive a high-stress, unpredictable, or emotionally unsafe home. Below we look at how this […]

Filed Under: Parenting, Teens/Children, Trauma, Trauma / PTSD Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Lost Child Family Role: Were You the One Nobody Noticed?

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Written by Gwen Soat, LCMHCA The Lost Child Family Role If you grew up feeling invisible in your own home, you may have taken on what’s known as the lost child family role. It’s one of the most overlooked patterns in dysfunctional family systems, precisely because the lost child causes no problems and asks for […]

Filed Under: Family Therapy, Parenting, Relationships, Teens/Children, Trauma, Trauma / PTSD Tagged With: , ,

The Switchboard: Dysfunctional Family Roles and the Child Who Held Everyone Together

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Written by Gwen Soat, LCMHCA Dysfunctional Family Roles – Were you the Switchboard? Like we’ve been talking about, every family has its roles. Some are assigned. Some are inherited. And some are quietly learned because a child sensed that someone had to hold everything together. Among the most misunderstood dysfunctional family roles is one we’ll […]

Filed Under: Family Therapy, Parenting, Relationships, Trauma, Trauma / PTSD

The Family Scapegoat: Understanding the Black Sheep Role and How to Heal

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Written by Gwen Soat, LCMHCA You Might Be the Family Scapegoat if… You feel like the black sheep in your family. You are blamed for problems that were never fully yours. Your mistakes are remembered longer than anyone else’s. Your successes are minimized, ignored, or picked apart. You feel emotionally excluded from your own family. […]

Filed Under: Family Therapy, Parenting, Trauma, Trauma / PTSD Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Golden Child Syndrome – What it is and how to heal

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Written by Gwen Soat, LCMHCA You Might Be Experiencing the Golden Child Syndrome If… You feel anxious when you’re not being productive You struggle to know what you actually want You seek acceptance, but praise often feels uncomfortable You fear disappointing people more than anything You put everyone else’s needs above your own You’ve been […]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Parenting, Relationships Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,