When Parents Have Problems - Susan B. Miller

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When Parents Have Problems Author: Susan B. Miller Publisher: Charles C Thomas Publishers, Ltd (June, 1995) Paperback: 79 pages ISBN-10: 039805990X ISBN-13: 978-0398059903

Book Description
Many books have been written for adults who grew up coping with troubled parents. Unfortunately, not much has been written for children who are coping in the present with difficult or troubled parents. This book is written with the idea that intelligent children can use sound ideas to improve their lives, either on their own or with the help of adults. The author helps the reader to be realistic about the sources of a problem, particularly if they are the results of a parent's difficulties. The text covers the kinds of problems that a parent's troubles can cause and offers ideas on how to deal constructively with the challenges. Topics included are mistreatment, selfishness, when parents are in pain, when parents cause pain, big time feelings, troubled parents and ordinary teen life, scapegoating, power struggles, why parents have problems, and getting professional help.

About the Author
Susan B. Miller is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She works with young people and adults in psychotherapy and also spends time writing fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of several other books, including The Shame Experience (1985, The Analytic Press).

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I haven't, but I looked at the table of contents. If it's well done, it could be very useful, both for a child/teen (if appropriate to share) and for a parent to read to see things from a child's perspective.

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I have read it now and it's very useful. Many of our members here would not be in a position to give the book to their older child or teen (perhaps ages 10/11 for a mature older child up through 18) because many parents are not diagnosed. But even if unable to share the book, which is written for older kids and teens and addresses them directly, reading it will give a non parent a lot of insight. It doesn't specifically focus on BPD or any mental illness. Rather, it focuses on the experience of the kid, the types of behaviors he or she may be on the receiving end of or witnessing and the feelings/responses he or she may have.

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Table of Contents

1   Getting Started   3

2   Selfishness   10

3   Mistreatment   14

4   When Parents Are In Pain   23

5   When Parents Cause Pain   29

6   Big-Time Feelings   35

7   Troubled Parents and Ordinary Teen Life   47

8   Scapegoating   53

9   Too High a Price to Pay? Choosing Your Parent Over Yourself   56

10   Power Struggles   60

11   Why Parents Have Problems   64

12   Professional Help: When and How to Get It   71

13   Finishing Up