Anybody watching this? I feel like there is going to be huge stigmatization on the parents of mentally ill adults after this show from what I’ve read about it.
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I think this is groundbreaking help for all the children that need it. I saw no potential for this help to be aimed at stigmatizing any parents whatsoever.
I am not sure this kind of counseling approach applies to severely mentally ill (like my son for example) because the cognitive component is not developed or able enough in my son (and many as ill as my son) to benefit from that kind of interactive therapy.
The story on 60 minutes focused on a young lady with PTSD. I have PTSD myself and I can see how this could be a beneficial type of approach for that. I think that parents can embrace this as a positive and helpful approach because trauma doesn’t just happen to children from dysfunctional families it happens to children in every kind of family in every walk of life in many countless ways.
Trauma can come from a thousand things. It can also be something like surviving a car accident or an especially difficult illness or surviving homelessness. What traumatizes one child may not even phase another child and yet the traumatized child if not really helped effectively early on could possibly live a troubled life for the rest of their life.
I wish this type of approach was available when my sisters and I were young. I think this was a very important episode and I am excited to see it at work helping young people in the future. Oprah Winfrey explores revolutionary approach to childhood trauma for "60 Minutes" - CBS News
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I’m glad you watched and updated for me. I’ll try to find it on the CBS website. I had read an article about the story and the wording was such that it made it sound like Oprah was going to say that people who develop mental illnesses do so because they are traumatized and abused (which happens in many cases but it hurts to generalize). I’m glad it didn’t send that message - whew! We don’t have cable or syndication so I was waiting to hear.
Thanks, Catherine
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Just to chime in - I don’t see this at all as stigmatizing parents. This is focused on identifying, preventing and for those who suffer from them - creating the best possible environment for recovery from very stressful events for children. Childhood Stress is just one of many factors that increase risk of mental illness. These adverse childhood events are important for all people planning to have kids to learn about and try to avoid - just like certain foods are better if consumed less frequently if you are to avoid diabetes.
Here is what I believe Oprah is focused on:
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I’m so glad to hear all of the great feedback. I read a twisted version of what the show was going to be about, which is embarrassing because I spend my career checking sources.
I’m watching it tomorrow. Excited. 
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