S5.E18. “My Feelings Matter!”: Does Every Feeling Need Validation?

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREToday, we are replaying one of our most popular episodes entitled “Narcissists in Co-Parenting.” After this episode, we are taking a podcast pause for a little while to re-evaluate where we go from here. There is a lot of content for you to listen to while we’re on pause. If you are a new listener, this will give you time to catch up. You might want to start with episode one and work through all of them at your own pace. If you're one of our many faithful followers, we thank you for your weekly participation with us on our journey, and encourage you to go back and re-listen to some episodes. We know that as co-parents grow in their journey, they are more prepared to hear certain things after some growth than they were when they initially heard them. Thanks for listening and please continue to message us through the website if you have questions or feedback. Much love to you all. Support the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick discuss the issues that arise when a co-parent is accused of parental alienation or child abuse. What drives the accusation, and what can be done to enlighten court professionals? THIS WEEK’S GOOD NEWS STORYSupport the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick answer listener Rachel’s question about how to respond to her kids when their dad has asked them to keep a secret from her.  They explore different ways kids are put in the middle with secret-keeping and the risks associated with it.VIEW THE VIDEO OF THIS  EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!This week’s GOOD NEWS STORYSupport the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick discuss some of their most difficult co-parent cases after listener Devin emails, wondering if any case is possibly worse than his! They discuss the importance of professionals working with the non-impossible parent  VIEW THE VIDEO OF THIS  EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!This week’s GOOD NEWS STORYSupport the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREListener Thomas asks how to respond to his 13-year-old son, who declares extreme political ideology that Thomas knows is coming from the other house. Should he respond? Stay silent? How do you counteract extreme ideas or values that go against yours when it comes from your kids? Diane & Rick break it down.VIEW THE VIDEO OF THIS  EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:Episode about religious points of view is S3.E23Book Between Two WorldsThe chameleon color pageThis week’s GOOD NEWS STORYSupport the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREBethany calls in with a frustrating dilemma, and Jeff emails about a similar frustration. Diane & Rick discuss how difficult it is to be placed in a position of choosing your own peace vs. your child’s emotional welfare. This seemingly impossible dilemma is quite common among high conflict co-parents, and it requires a logical view of multiple variables to makes sense of what feels senseless.Support the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREDiane & Rick bring together a group of pediatricians and moms who have difficult co-parents to discuss innovative ways to work together. Kids of divorce often get stuck in the middle when a high-conflict co-parent weaponizes the medical community, leaving the other parent feeling marginalized and misunderstood. They discuss various ways parents use medical professionals to their legal advantage and what professionals might do to minimize the conflict instead of unwittingly making it worse.  Support the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREUtah listener Heather wonders what more she can do to protect her two sons from their verbally abusive father. The 14-year-old explodes with dad, while the 13-year-old son witnesses the drama and tries to keep things from getting worse. Diane& Rick discuss the different roles children play in the family system and what Heather can do to help each child feel emotionally safe (while also complying with the court-ordered custody arrangement).This Week’s GOOD NEWS STORYSupport the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERETexas listener, Christa, answers a challenge Diane made in a previous episode to give her any dilemma, and she would suggest a viable Plan B. Diane & Rick discuss whether or not what Christa presents are co-parenting dilemmas or general parenting issues, and they provide suggestions accordingly. They also discuss the DRAGON method of devising a Plan B.This Week’s GOOD NEWS STORY:An arrest has been made in connection with a murder in Australia 27 years ago, in the Port Cartwright cliffs in Queensland (above). Police have confirmed to Meshel Laurie, the host of Australian True Crime ▸, that it was a listener to her podcast who provided information leading to the arrest last Thursday of Keith Lees, now aged 72. Lees was the subject of an Australian True Crime episode released on Dec 23: he had gone on the run after being questioned by police in June. Support the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...

Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HEREListener Todd asks if he should validate his child’s feelings, even when she says she doesn’t like him? How far does a parent go, and are feelings valid (representing truth) or simply experiences to be understood? Diane & Rick suggest it’s important to explore the root of feelings, including assumptions, misinformation, mood, and delusions, before judging them. They also discuss the responsibility of both the sharer AND the hearer in communication. This Week’s GOOD NEWS STORYSupport the show>>>>CONTACT US  >>>>RATE THE SHOW  >>>>VISIT OUR WEBSITECO-PARENT RESOURCES:Subscribe to Diane’s DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRUSTRATED CO-PARENTS and get a one-month FREE trial If you want to learn more about Diane & Rick’s D.R.A.G.O.N. method for finding co-parenting peace, purchase their book,  I AM NON-IMPOSSIBLE  THE CO-PARENT TOOLBOX , is Diane Dierks’ guide for co-parents CLICK HERE for FREE communication resources for co-parents  For valuable co-parent workshop videos and products, visit our Non-Impossible STORE!To get a special discount on therapy visit BetterHelpFOR DIVORCE PROFESSIONALS:IMPACT training to learn how to...