Understanding the Highly Sensitive Child
Validating their big feelings makes all the difference.
I’m delighted to be teaming up with coach and trainer Jules De Vitto to run a Highly Sensitive Person retreat at the gorgeous Quadrangle in Kent, UK, on June 15-18, 2023. Jules and I have worked very hard to make this a great value offering with fantastic food and accommodation — and opportunities to take part in carefully-curated activities — from workshops on high sensitivity, breath work and wild swimming, to ecstatic dance, sound baths and more. All activities are optional and you’ll have plenty of time to relax in nature. Early bird bookings are open until March 31. We’d love to see you there!
Meanwhile, I warmly invite you to join The HSP Revolution online membership community — where I host two live workshops per month, post daily inspiration, and provide opportunities to share and connect. We’ve just had a great workshop on “Managing Our Energy As HSPs.” I’ll be holding the next workshop on “Living Our Purpose,” on Thursday 9 March at midday GMT. Here’s what members are saying:
Access to this weekly newsletter is now reserved primarily for community members. I will continue to send one edition per month free to all existing subscribers. To continue reading the whole newsletter each week, please do join us in the membership community, and gain access to workshops, daily inspiration and more!
I first learned about high sensitivity while working as a clinical psychologist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in east London a decade ago.
I was coming across so many young people who seemed to be such deep feelers, that I began reading everything I could to try to figure out whether I was seeing some kind of pattern. That’s how I came upon Dr Elaine Aron’s work on the 30 percent of the population who are considered Highly Sensitive People (HSPs). My understanding of the children I was working with — and myself — radically changed.
Although I love working with Highly Sensitive Children, I love working with parents, grandparents, teachers, therapists and social workers who support these children just as much. So I was delighted to run a workshop yesterday for participants on a three-month professional training in empowering Highly Sensitive Children, run by my friend Jules De Vitto.
There is no way that one newsletter could begin to do the topic of supporting Highly Sensitive Children justice — but I thought I’d summarise some of the key points that came through during last night’s workshop. (And parenting Highly Sensitive Children will of course be a topic I’ll be exploring in my new The HSP Revolution online community).
Always holding labels lightly, I’d like to start by emphasising how much diversity exists among Highly Sensitive Children. Just like HSP adults, sensitive children can be intraverts, extroverts, and High Sensation Seekers. They can also vary widely in how deeply they process sensory input, thoughts, and emotions, and how sensitive they are to their environment. There can never be a one-size-fits-all approach for connecting with a Highly Sensitive Child.
That said, I do think there are some key things to bear in mind — whether you are parenting a sensitive child, or working with them in a professional capacity — and I thought I’d share some of the key points I made last night.