A Mindful Approach to Parenting & Caregiving

Family life can be super stressful at times, there’s no doubt about it. And that’s where mindfulness can be helpful. Bryn and guest host Char Black sit down with Alison, a mother and coach for neurodiverse families, and Dr. Joanna McDermid, a Psychiatrist and the Associate Director of the BC Children’s Centre for Mindfulness. They discuss how mindfulness can support your overall well-being and help during common stressors that parents experience, debunk some common myths and misconceptions that surround mindfulness, and offer tips on how you can weave mindfulness into parenting and caregiving if this is an approach you’re curious about.

 

You can read the full transcript for the episode here. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Guest bios
Alison Brazier
Mother, health scientist, and parent & family coach

Alison Brazier, PhD, is a mother, health scientist, and parent and family coach for neurodiverse families. Alison’s desire to work with families with neurodiversity was inspired by her own lived experience supporting her son’s unique wiring. After leaving academia, she’s been on a mission to shift parenting paradigms to one that is grounded in growth, compassion, connection, and curiosity - qualities well suited to support neurodiverse children.  She began learning about and using mindfulness practices more than 20 years ago, and she uses these practices and principles in her daily life as a mother, and as a parent coach.  She’s the owner of Brilliant Not Broken Coaching and Consulting.

Dr. Joanna McDermid
Associate Director, BC Children's Hospital Centre for Mindfulness

Dr. Joanna McDermid, is a psychiatrist at BCCH and the Associate Director of BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Mindfulness. In addition to her psychiatry training, Dr. McDermid has trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC).  Dr. McDermid has developed mindfulness programs to supplement standard care for individuals with eating disorders in residential treatment, and a parent and caregiver mindfulness program called MARS-PC.

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