When Family Triggers You: Breaking Cycles & Setting Boundaries
Registered therapist in Transpersonal Psychology, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Co-founder of Thrive.one
A Working Session for Parents Ready to Stop Reacting and Start Responding with Intention
Family relationships are some of the most complex we'll ever navigate—especially when you're trying to parent differently than you were raised. This working session addresses the real, messy dynamics that happen when your family pushes your buttons, undermines your parenting, or reinforces the very patterns you're working so hard to break.
We'll explore the three main approaches people usually use to handle triggering family relationships: setting boundaries, speaking your truth, and protecting yourself through distance.
You'll leave with practical tools to assess your own family dynamics and concrete strategies you can implement immediately. This isn't about blame or therapy—it's about mastering your responses so you can become the parent and person you aspire to be, not the reactive version of yourself that takes the bait.
What you'll experience
Real talk about hard topics. We're diving into the situations no one wants to admit: when your own parents undermine you, when family gatherings leave you depleted for days, when you love someone AND need distance from them.
A framework for decision-making. You'll learn how to assess whether your situation calls for boundaries, honest conversation, or stepping back—and how to know when it's time to shift strategies.
Practical tools you can use immediately. We'll work through specific language for setting boundaries, scripts for difficult conversations, and strategies for managing your nervous system when triggered.
Community wisdom. You'll hear from other parents navigating similar struggles and realize you're not alone in this.
A working format. This isn't passive learning. You'll actively apply what we're discussing to your real-life family dynamics throughout the session.
Permission and validation. Sometimes we just need to hear that our instincts are right, that we're not overreacting, and that protecting ourselves and our children is not only okay—it's necessary.
How to prepare
Identify your specific trigger points. Before the session, think about which family members or situations consistently leave you feeling drained, angry, or regressed. What specific behaviors or comments push your buttons?
Consider what you've already tried. Have you attempted to set boundaries? Spoken up? Pulled back? What happened? This will help you know where to focus during our working time.
Get honest about the impact. How are these dynamics affecting you? Your parenting? Your children? Your mental health? We can't address what we won't acknowledge.
Come with realistic expectations. This session won't fix your family relationships, but it will give you tools to navigate them more skillfully. The work is in implementing what you learn.
Be ready to do the work. This is a working session, which means you'll be actively engaging with your own dynamics, not just listening to theory.
What you'll need
• A quiet space with a stable internet connection
• Preferably hands-free so you can fully participate in the exercises
• A note book or paper for the exercises
• Some spaciousness after the session to let the work land
Frequency
Once
Who has access
Open to everyone
