Key Elements of ACoA Therapy

• Confronting the story and truth of your history as an adult child growing up in a dysfunctional home

• Identifying the parental and family messages that were internalized and consciously choosing the ones you would like to keep that are healthy, kind, and helpful and releasing those beliefs that are not beneficial

• Learning to set boundaries, to find your voice, and speak up for yourself (especially when confronted by “authority figures”– whom you might soon find are not an authority on your life)

• Learning how to locate, name/note, and experience your emotions in a contained way, without having to act them out or live in them

• Tracking and understanding when and how you are using an old subconscious defence mechanism– this would also include becoming familiar with your particular triggers

• Uncovering your own needs, wants, dreams, and aspirations that may have gone underground by living in chaotic, narcissistically-based and unsafe homes

• Learning how to challenge and balance out “stinking thinking” to work with negativity and black and white thought patterns

• Becoming familiar with the ACA family role you’ve played in your family to keep chaos and dysfunction in place: such as the Hero, the Mascot, the Rescuer, the Scapegoat, the Lost Child, and others

• Learning how to regulate your own nervous system in the way that works best for you with neurofeedback, forest bathing, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, meditation, aromatherapy and essential oils, and yoga

• Learning how to generate presence in your life— this can happen through meditation and mindfulness practices, prayer, body-based awareness practices, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, IFS and Gestalt Psychotherapy

• Learning how to generate self-love, self-care, and self-esteem