The Parent Trap:
Familial Nurturance and the Failure to Launch Phenomenon
Alarms have increasingly sounded within the mental health professions about the number of young adults seemingly becalmed in the transition from dependent adolescence to independent adulthood.
Though research is severely limited, the causal factors appear to be diverse, and it seems that none is sufficient to produce the difficulty on its own. Personality, economic, and cultural influences have all been implicated, as has the appearance of the Internet and the amount of time young adults typically spend online.
One factor that appears to be very nearly essential, however, is familial support, without which the dependent life is simply not tenable. Parents or other caregivers must step in to provide finances, support, or accommodation - yet parents are often the individuals most distressed by the lack of progress in their young adult's life. So-called "failure to launch" is a dance requiring the participation of more than one party. Typically with benevolent intent, parents often provide nurturance in a manner that undermines independence rather than facilitating it. The result is a decision-making process on the part of the young adult that degrades the attractiveness of adulthood and enhances the appeal of retaining the perks of childhood. Therapy can profitably examine this process, including the incentives for inaction, the hidden appeal of remaining an active caregiver, fears of abandonment, and how financial subsidies might be reweighted to favour progress rather than stagnation. This interactive case-based workshop is designed to help clinicians examine the role of the parent-young adult relationship in the development or maintenance of the problem and provides guidance on the inclusion of parents in therapy - or therapy provided exclusively to the parents who find themselves in this situation.
Learning Objectives
In the course of this program, participants will learn:
Completing this on-demand course will result in a 2 CE (2 hours) credits certificate. In order to earn your credits, you are required to watch the 2-part webinar, complete a survey and submit a small assignment.
1. Part 1 (watch presentation + download handouts)
2. Part 2 (watch presentation)
3. Complete a Survey
4. Submit the final assignment
Randy Paterson