Whitney explores patterns around adult children who mimic their parents' harmful behaviors, the complexities of maintaining boundaries when a parent struggles with addiction, and how illness can be weaponized in estranged families. In the Q&A, she answers a caller's question about navigating grandparent illness during estrangement.

00:00 Introduction: Darker Family Patterns

02:59 Airport Observation: When Adult Children Treat Parents Like They Were Treated

08:11 Real Housewives SLC: How to Show Up for a Child Struggling with Addiction

10:55 Q&A: When Grandparent Illness Becomes a Manipulation Tactic

Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.

Have a question for Whitney? Call in and leave a voicemail for the show at 866-225-5466

Join the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠

Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhit

Follow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft

⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic Positivity⁠⁠

Learn more about ad choices. Visit podcast.choices.com/adchoices

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices