Burnout. It can happen at work, and it can happen to parents, too. Nowadays, with the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are especially stressed. They are navigating new roles and demands while trying to parent, teach their kids, and provide for their families. All of this with no childcare breaks. It’s the perfect storm for Parental Burnout.

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Coyne, a parenting and child expert at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, speaks with Debbie about signs of parental burnout. She offers practical strategies to help. Dr. Coyne gives suggestions for talking with children and teenagers about the emotional aspects of coping with the pandemic. She provides us an exercise to help reconnect with their big-picture parenting values. 

Listen and Learn

What is parental burnout?Who’s at risk?Why pandemic parenting may lead to parental burnoutSimple practices to shift fed-up mood states and increase self-compassionThe power of treating kids as if they’re about to do the next right thingStrategies to support emotional growth in kids of all ages  The crucial first response when parenting frustrating kidsPutting “values and vulnerabilities” conversations to work for youA helpful values exercise for overtaxed parents

About Lisa Coyne Ph.D.

Dr. Lisa Coyne

Lisa W. Coyne, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and founder of the McLean OCD Institute for Children and Adolescents (OCDI Jr.). She also founded and directs the New England Center for OCD and Anxiety and is a peer-reviewed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Trainer.

Dr. Coyne has authored or co-authored several books on parenting, children and families including The Joy of Parenting: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guide to Effective Parenting in the Early Years; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Clinician’s Guide for Supporting Parents; Stuff That’s Loud: A Teen’s Guide to Unspiraling when OCD Gets Noisyand Stop Avoiding Stuff: 25 Microskills to Face Your Fears and Do It Anyway. She is the incoming president of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) and earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Scranton and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi. 

Resources

PRAXIS: An ACT Approach to Parental Burnout Webinar with Dr Lisa Coyne and Evelyn Gould“Dr. Lisa Coyne Offers Support for Kid and Teens During the Pandemic” McLean Hospital Webinar“Dr. Lisa Coyne Offers Tips to Help Parents Prevent Burnout” McLean Hospital Webinar“Dr. Lisa Coyne Shares Coping Strategies for Families During COVID-19” McLean Hospital Webinar“What Happened to American Childhood?” The Atlantic April 17, 2020 Article by Kate JulianThe Joy of Parenting: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guide to Effective Parenting in the Early Years; by Lisa Coyne, Ph.D. and Amy R. Murrell Ph.D.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Clinician’s Guide for Supporting Parents by Koa Whittingham Ph.D. and Lisa Coyne Ph.D.Stuff That’s Loud: A Teen’s Guide to Unspiraling when OCD Gets Noisyby Ben Sedley Ph.D. and Lisa Coyne Ph.D.Upcoming book for Pre-order: Stop Avoiding Stuff: 25 Microskills to Face Your Fears and Do It Anyway by Matt Boone, LCSW, Jennifer Gregg Ph.D. and Lisa Coyne Ph.D.

79. Helping Adolescents Thrive with Dr. Louise Hayes116. Building a Meaningful, Values-based Life with Dr. Jenna LeJeune