Needing Help Managing Stress?

Some other signs that you or someone you know needs help managing stress include:

• Anger or irritability
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Pulling away from people
• Constant worrying
• Feeling sad all the time
• Problems sleeping (too much or too little)
• Worsening of health problems
• Difficulty concentrating

What Types of Help Are Available?

Family Therapy: Custodial grandparenting impacts all members of a family. Family therapy can help individuals and families cope with their feelings about their family structure and improve the quality of their relationships. Family therapists are specially trained to understand the complicated feelings and relationships within grandparent-headed families. If you feel that your family could benefit from family therapy, find a therapist who has experience working with grandparent-headed families. 

Support Groups: Many communities offer support groups for grandparent-headed families. Most of these support groups are for grandparents raising grandchildren. However, support groups are also available for grandchildren. Support groups provide participants with an opportunity to talk about their experiences and feelings in a safe, supportive environment. Participants can also gain information, learn from one another, and meet people dealing with similar issues. Good support groups allow time for personal sharing, but also take a positive outlook, structure sharing time, connect participants to sources of support, and help participants set and reach goals.

By Megan L. Dolbin-MacNab, PhD and Ryan M. Traylor, MS  
American Association of Family Therapy