The Emotions Playbook for Family Wellness
Parents Have Feelings, Too is a practical guide that teaches parents how to identify, name, and work with their emotions–and how to teach this valuable, life-changing emotional intelligence skill to the next generation. It’s a book for parents with kids of all ages.
This is an empowering book. The practical exercises, real-life examples, and research-backed insights are a rare combination in a readable book. Highly recommended for parents or any adult seeking to better understand themselves and others.
– Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D., author (with Oprah Winfrey) of the #1 New York Times bestseller What Happened to You: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
Parents are stressed.
It’s not uncommon for modern-day pressures and expectations to compromise a parent’s emotional well-being, causing them to lose control of their emotions and lash out.
But when parents let their anger and frustration lead to outbursts, the fallout can have lasting effects on their children, leaving them anxious, insecure, and hurt by the words and actions of their overwhelmed caregivers.
Parents desperately need real, actionable, long-lasting advice that helps them process their emotions in a healthy and productive way. In Parents Have Feelings, Too, psychotherapists Hilary Jacobs Hendel and Juli Fraga provide the tools parents need to understand and effectively work with their own potent feelings, breaking the chain of intergenerational trauma, and passing along emotional intelligence to their children to create a generation of people with emotional regulation skills.
Parents have feelings. And when they can identify what they are, where they are coming from, and how to work with them, parents are empowered to help their children understand and navigate their own emotions.
All parents could benefit from this helpful instruction on how to welcome and process our feelings instead of acting them out in ways we regret. You’ll be a better parent and a happier person for reading this book.
– Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD, clinical psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
About the Authors
Hilary Jacobs Hendel, LCSW
Hilary Jacobs Hendel, LCSW is a psychotherapist, emotions educator and author of the book, “It’s Not Always Depression (Random House, 2018).” Dedicated to educating the public (and parents) about emotions, Hilary uses “The Change Triangle” tool for emotional health as a guide. This emotional compass is included in Hilary and Juli’s new book.
You can find Hilary on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Juli Fraga, PsyD
Juli Fraga, PsyD is a psychologist + parenting educator. In her clinical practice, she supports new and seasoned parents overcome anxiety, past childhood trauma, and tricky family dynamics. Dr. Juli is on the medical board of BabyCenter. An avid writer, Dr. Juli also provides clinical content for companies, such as Calm Health.
You can find Juli on Psychology Today and X.
Parents Have Feelings, Too explores the emotional lives of parents–especially the often-overlooked experiences of fathers. Hendel and Fraga offer practical, judgment-free steps to help caregivers move through guilt and shame, while making sense of the complex emotions that come with raising children.
– Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space
As Seen In
This book is a must-read for parents — especially new parents, who are learning to help their child navigate big feelings while simultaneously battling with their own. It’s thorough but easy to read — a perfect mix of stories, data, and actionable advice. Engaging and accessible, it offers real hope in the messy, beautiful chaos of early parenthood. I’ll be recommending it to every parent I know, and to friends without kids, too. I would have benefited from reading it long before I became a parent.
– Kristin Wong
