The "Family Meeting"

We put this "family counselling session" off as long as possible. Why should we pay a doctor to listen to our cute-but-creative son pull responses from the clouds? No, this would be a waste of money. We may have been wrong. Time will tell, but the first session went remarkably well. It was the "get acquainted" session, filled with questions about why we were there. Fortunately our doctor has a pretty good clue as to why we were there, since he worked with me 6 months and has been working with Bobby's dad the past two. 

Our goal is to gather tools, pull-together more on the same page and listen to someone from the "outside" as he puts some objectivity into our relationships. None of us really has time to sit in an office for the rest of our lives, but it can't hurt to try it out for a bit.

Bobby seemed to enjoy the hour. He listened to our doctor & responded appropriately (most of the time). I had explained beforehand he just needed to give his honest answers. Nothing was "right" or "wrong." The doctor asked, "Why are you here, Bobby?" to which he quickly replied, "to learn to make good choices & be honest."  Great! We're off to a terrific start!

Many parents feel bringing a counsellor into the picture is a sign of weakness or is admitting they aren't perfect. There you have it. We're admitting we are weak in this situation & NOT perfect. So, a counsellor's office is right where we belong! We've raised 3 kids (now in their 20's)  who appear at this point to be fairly strong, secure and stable & all of that without the use of family therapy...but we need it now! (Not that it wouldn't have been helpful back when the older 3 were younger!) ADHD has thrown our son a curve ball but darn it, we're hoping some more good skills will help him hit it out of the park! Thanks, Dr. M!