New podcast
Whether you're parenting a Highly Sensitive Child, or want to understand your own sensitivity better, this conversation is for you.
Welcome to my weekly newsletter building a supportive community for Highly Sensitive People (HSPs).
After taking a break from the newsletter for a couple of weeks, I’m delighted to return with an interview recorded by Jules De Vitto, a transpersonal coach, for her wonderful Highly Sensitive Human Podcast. You can listen here.
Although the theme is parenting Highly Sensitive Children, I think a lot of the points we touch on speak to the challenges and gifts of sensitivity more broadly. As regular readers of The HSP Revolution will know, I first learned about HSPs when working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for the National Health Service almost a decade ago. As I said to Jules:
“A lot of children coming in were different and had a quality about them: A presence; something beyond their years; a wisdom. I could feel them assessing me, seeing through me. I had to let go of my role as a psychologist and meet them at the same level.”
Ever since working with those incredible children, supporting HSPs has been my mission. I was delighted to be able to dive so deeply into this topic with Jules, who has a profound understanding of sensitivity, and a deep commitment to HSPs.
Among the topics we address are:
Strengths of HSPs in terms of empathy, creativity and the ability to connect
How challenging behaviours arise when a sensitive child feels misunderstood
How to avoid power struggles by meeting your child on their level
Problem-solving with your child
Learning to tolerate the intensity of your child’s outbursts
Not taking things personally
How parenting a sensitive child forces us to confront our blind spots
How our children can trigger our unresolved traumas
Appreciating the beauty of the gifts sensitive children bring
How to listen to yourself and cultivate self-compassion
How parenting a sensitive child is an invitation into higher consciousness
As always, I’d love to hear about your own experiences in the comments.
And for any coaches, healers or therapists reading this, Jules has a few places left on her fabulous three-month course on how to coach HSPs.
Funnily enough, Jules and I had never met in person until last weekend — when I was amazed to bump into her at Medicine Festival, a magical gathering in Berkshire that I’ve been attending with my family since it began three years ago. We got back on Monday after having a wonderful four days wandering through clearings, listening to incredible musicians, and learning from indigenous elders from around the world. If you’re looking for a fantastic focus for next summer, then I can’t recommend this gathering highly enough.
See you next week!
Dr Genevieve