As we face the years in which our adult children go their own ways and start their own careers and families, there are new challenges in creating and maintaining our roles as parents.

Often we want to feel more significant or present in their lives than we seem to be, and there can be sadness, frustration and distancing that occurs when we try to create the relationships we want. Many of these issues come from a need to evaluate the expectations, obligations and promises we have had in earlier years when we played a different role in their lives. The appearance of children, spouses and new lifestyles can make it hard for us to recognize when we maintain behaviors and attitudes which weaken rather than strengthen our relationships.

This six-session workshop will allow participants to get a closer look at what they want and what they are doing to get it, as well as a way of perceiving the process through the new eyes of Internal Control Psychology. “Bettering” our relationships may mean changing the circumstances of the situations, but it may also involve increasing our acceptance of what we can and cannot affect in our role as parents of adult children.

Sessions will include presentations and demonstrations by the instructor in ways of understanding and moving forward in difficult situations, as well as small-group sharing and experimenting with new ways of perceiving difficult situations.