GO ON A JOURNEY WITH US…
FOR THE PAST DECADE, DR JOSHUA COLEMAN AND DR BECCA BLAND HAVE EDUCATED THE PUBLIC ABOUT FAMILY ESTRANGEMENT, WHY IT HAPPENS AND THE CONSEQUENCES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES.
WE HAVE NOW COME TOGETHER TO HELP YOU AS A CARING PROFESSIONAL WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER PEOPLE THAT NEED SUPPORT WITH FAMILY ESTRANGEMENT.
WE WANT YOU TO TAKE OUR TRAINING AND JOIN OUR TEAM so WE CAN BUILD A MORE SUPPORTIVE AND UNDERSTANDING NETWORK OF PROFESSIONALS FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING ESTRANGEMENT.
BY producing high quality training, JOSH AND BECCA ARE giving CoAches and therapists in THE USA AND CANADA the tools they need to reduce the shame and stigma around family estrangement.
Becca’s story began with an article she wrote for the Guardian discussing her own family estrangement. As a result of the response she received from other people facing family estrangement, she formed the UK non-for-profit organisation, Stand Alone. Over time, she’s grown the organisation and created innovative support for both estranged adult children and parents in unique face-to face support groups.
Under her leadership, the organisation has supported thousands of people in person, and millions more worldwide with her awareness-raising media work. Becca recognizes that people are often reticent to come forward for support with family estrangement and often feel judged, shamed and misunderstood by the professionals they work with. Becca has published academic articles on the power of helping professionals to advise on family estrangement and numerous reports on the structural difficulties that family estrangement can bring. She was honoured in the UK for her contribution to the field of family estrangement in 2019.
Joshua’s story began with the publication of his book When Parents Hurt: Compassionate Strategies When You and Your Grown Child Don’t Get Along (HarperCollins 2009). As a result of his book and numerous media appearances, he was contacted by thousands of parents who had been estranged by their adult children. He saw the enormous need to educate parents on this topic and developed a popular webinar series and a free Monday Q&A for parents, which he’s run for the past 10 years. Josh has seen first-hand that professionals who work with clients on estrangement often offer damaging advice, which hinders the relationship in the longer term.
Together they have become the ‘go-to’ people worldwide for advice and on adult child and parental estrangement respectively.
Why are Josh and Becca standing together?
Josh and Becca are here to help you to go on a journey as a caring professional who encounters people that need specialist support with estrangement. It’s a common issue that coaches and therapists may see daily, as family estrangement and cutting ties with a relative is much more prevalent than we talk about. By developing more empathy, understanding and less judgement around family estrangement in the helping professions, Josh and Becca can enable more people in North America to find specialist support.
Importantly, Josh and Becca are open-minded about the outcomes for individuals who are experiencing estrangement. For some people, they may wish to develop a new life, and move past a heavily traumatic past. For others, they may wish to develop a new and stronger relationship with an estranged family member or to simply find support with the quagmire of indecision and doubt that family estrangement can bring.
For professionals
Josh and Becca have long understood that there is a shortage of well-trained helping professionals with specialisms in the area of family estrangement in North America. Both of us have frequently struggled to sign-post to people who can help. By standing together, we are offering a unique training package, designed to help you to become more confident as a professional and specialise in this area.
What Do we do?
We educate coaches, therapists, clergy, and other helping professionals in the USA and Canada who need to know more about the needs of estranged adult children and estranged parents.