Welcome to a new season of The Allergy Mom Podcast! In this new season, I am looking forward to having more guests and topics that address mental health, parenting, and family life issues when living a life with a family member with severe allergy, anaphylaxis, or a related, chronic health condition.
In this episode, I interview Dr. William J. Doherty, the past-President of the National Council on Family Relations, the oldest interdisciplinary family studies organization in North America.
About Bill:
William J. Doherty, Ph.D., is Professor of Family Social Science and Director of the Citizen Professional Center at the University of Minnesota. He is also a practicing marriage and family therapist and co-founder of The Doherty Relationship Institute, LLC, a new venture designed to help engaged couples through couples on the brink.
Bill has received the Significant Contribution to the Field of Marriage and Family Therapy Award from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
He is a national leader in the movement to solve the problem of overscheduled kids and underconnected families. Prominent in this work are four community initiatives focused on reclaiming family time in the hurry-up world of contemporary childhood.
He has appeared in a wide range of national media outlets about this issue, including Oprah, The New York Times, USA Today, all of the major network morning shows and evening news programs, Time, and National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation.
His book Take Back Your Kids: Confident Parenting in Turbulent Times (Sorin Books) is a call for parents to assume leadership in their families, instead of anxiously surrendering children to the peer culture and the consumer culture. It won Forward Magazine’s Parenting Book of the Year Award for books from independent publishers.
His book Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World That Pulls Us Apart (Guilford Press), describes how marriage has been undermined by the me-first consumer culture, by frenetic busyness, and by over-indulgent parenting, and shows how couples can take back their marriages through rock-solid commitment, rituals of connection and love, and participation in communities that support their marriages. It won the Self-Help Book of the Year Award for books from independent publishers.
His most recent book, co-authored with his daughter Elizabeth Doherty Thomas, is Take Back Your Wedding: Managing the People Stress of Wedding Planning (BookSurge). It explains the most complex part of planning a wedding―the family dynamics―and shows engaged couples how to plan a wedding that is people-smart and people-sensitive and that embodies their deepest values.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
- Family traditions and meals planned with intention to create a safe and fun celebration without the drama
- How to navigate difficult conversations with extended family members about your child’s allergies
- How to discuss and plan with family members to get them involved in the creation of intentional family practices and to improve family life through defining roles
- Bill’s expert insights on how to make changes in the family in ways that won’t be met with resistance and will be accepted by the rest of the family
- How a chronic health issues is what Bill calls, “A call to consciousness”
- “Love and Limits… and leadership” – our role as parents
- “Pinch points & Crunch Points” – when to pick our battles and how to prioritize family
- Family dinners are the single most important thing you can do as a family
- Why you should force your kids to do stuff with the family even if they don’t want to…
- Why Bill thinks your kids’ opinions of you really don’t matter until they’re 25!
- Peach & Pit, Rose & Thorn, Grateful for & Hopeful for…. my faves! Sharing without Grilling
- Bill’s political work to address polarization and divide -using Couples therapy to heal a country!
- Covid & Family life and what happens after the pandemic ends
- …and more!
Bill’s Links:
Doherty Relationship Institute: DohertyRelationshipinstitute.com
Managing the stress of Wedding Planning Site: Thefirstdance.com
Bill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/billdoherty
Stay Tuned:
That is Season 2: Episode 1! Thanks for listening! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already– there are so many amazing interviews and topics coming out in this new season that I don’t want you to miss!
Click here to listen on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Podcasts:
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Important Announcements:
I have a private practice website for counselling. As a regulated health professional, I offer counselling in person and via online face-to-face, virtual counselling services. You can schedule a complimentary consultation to find out more or to ask any preliminary questions you may have here: https://calendly.com/choosinghealth/complimentary-consult-call?month=2020-10
Connect with me over on Instagram, @the_allergymom. It would also mean so much if you would leave a rating and review at any podcast platform that you’re listening on. Please send me a message to let me know if you have any constructive feedback for the show and/or content suggestions for upcoming episodes! I want this resource to be the best that it can be for you!
I offer FREE 30 minute phone consultations as well to answer any questions you may have about counselling. You can book yourself into my calendar here:Book your Free Consultation Call
Where you can find me:
The Allergy Mom (Melissa Scheichl)’s LinkedIn
How you can work with me:
- One-on-One Allergy Counselling
- Brand and Organization Consulting – If you’re an allergy-aware business and need support to make your offering the best it can be for those suffering with Allergy, Asthma, Eczema or related health issues, I am available for consulting and can connect you with the people who can really inform your decision making, those who are affected every day! The patients! Contact me today to discuss!