Alexithymic Parenting: The Impacts on Children

by Jason Thompson

Parenting is a difficult job for anyone and parent/child communications are often far from perfect. The challenges found in any parent-child relationship are severely exacerbated for parents who find it difficult to read the verbal signals and emotional cues given by their children. This deficit is referred to technically as ‘alexithymia’ – a difficulty in identifying and making sense of emotional signals. The following overview, drawn from both personal and clinical experience, will outline some of the more common issues facing children of alexithymic parents, with an emphasis on those parents who have not had access to resources or opportunities to assess and improve their parenting skills. ~Alexithymia defined ~Difficulty identifying feelings ~Misattunement and misinterpretation ~Unregulated affective discharge ~Exploitation of children’s cognitive abilities ~Mechanical, externally oriented cognitive style ~Family relationships and support issues

Genres: Parenting

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2012

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