Episode Takeaways:

What happens for children when a parent regularly leaves home for work? Could parental absence create experiences that a child experiences as traumatic—and, if so, what can parents do to protect their children and build resilience?

Perhaps you are worried about leaving your toddler for an extended period of time. Maybe they cry when you leave, seem distraught, or struggle when you are away. Or perhaps, as an adult, you are beginning to wonder whether the absence of a parent during your own childhood has had an impact on you.

In this episode, we explore these questions with Barb Varcl-Smith, a trauma recovery educator, speaker, therapist, and creator of the Ascendance Method. Barb helps people understand the hidden survival patterns that shape our thoughts, behaviours, relationships, and identity—empowering them to move from survival into more authentic living.

In this episode, Barb explains:

• The potential trauma that can happen with parental absence
• What a parent can do
• How to build a resilient family life
• If you are an adult, how to recover from any trauma that may have occurred

Contact Barb Varcl-Smith on her website: https://www.your-steps.co.uk/

Barb is also the host of the podcast Way Out of Childhood Trauma and the author of the upcoming book Purposeful Parenting: Applying the Ascendance Method to Family Life.

Contact Rhoda: [email protected]

Receive news regularly on new episodes of HTFA Podcast and on new events and resources. Subscribe to my newsletter.

Buy the book: Holding the Fort Abroad

Your partner's job opportunity in another country seemed like an exciting idea, but lengthy work assignments mean you're holding down the family fort - alone.

OR Your partner is working and living in another country, and you feel like you are shouldering all the home responsibilities alone.

You may be wondering:

• How can we be a family when we're miles apart?
• Can I cope, alone, when troubles arise?

I believe there are answers to the above questions, and the answers start with you. In this context, it's more important than ever to invest in yourself, to care for yourself, to set your own goals and to watch yourself grow. Equally important is to nurture your relationship with your partner and learn to parent together.