Monday, February 25, 2012
Interview by Lon Woodbury
Just what can parents do to raise confident daughters in today’s culture? Invited to discuss this question on a L.A. Talk Radio, guest Dustin Tibbitts talked with host Lon Woodbury about the changing roles of women in the 21st century. On one hand, he pointed out, women have come to be a lot more empowered through the previous 20 years. On the other hand, raising girls was more difficult because they are now struggling with media objectification, undesirable relationships and more traumas.
Dustin Tibbitts
Dustin Tibbitts is President of InnerChange, a provider of long-term residential treatment for young women, as well as the Executive Director of New Haven Residential Treatment Center. His clinical expertise is in the areas of healing trauma, sexual abuse, depression, attachment disorders, personality disorders, and eating disorders. New Haven is a leader in providing residential treatment care.
Why Raising Confident Daughters Has Never Been More Challenging
During the hour-long interview, Tibbitts talked about a few of the difficulties dealt with by parents when attempting to raise confident daughters, and these ranged from media objectification to discovering the right relationships. When parents proactively addressed these issues, they could raise positive daughters ready to take on the challenges and welcome the opportunities of our contemporary world.
One huge barrier to self-acceptance that girls encountered was the inordinate objectification of women by the media. He was also alarmed to come across some recent sociological studies that indicated that the sexual slavery of females had increased dramatically in the United States in recent years.
Besides their struggles with trying to fit into the ideals artificially created by media objectification, young women were discovering relationships challenging, and this was due to the fact that they were not able to meet young men interested in a long-lasting, stable, and meaningful partnership.
When asked about just what therapy was necessary to help girls with post-traumatic stress disorder, Tibbitts talked about the value of using trauma-informed care with youth women. This therapeutic technique concentrated on trying to understand the effect of injury and mitigate its emotional impact without inducing any more injury.
Tibbitts believed that parents played a significant role in assisting their daughters with post traumatic stress disorders, and it was helpful for parents to offer structure, initiate constructive dialogue, and find creative ways to get their daughters to share their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, professional therapeutic help was necessary if the girl was likely to harm herself through destructive behavior.
Ultimately, raising confident daughter was a result of paying attention to them, comprehending their needs, and offering the support they needed to increase their self-confidence.
Lon Woodbury, the founder of Struggling Teens, has recorded the complete interview on his weekly L.A. Talk Radio show for people to enjoy at any time.
