PODCAST

Introducing my new Podcast!

Parenting Post-wilderness is your guide to parenting a struggling teen, whether they’re home, transitioning home, or presently in treatment. Your guides to Parenting Post-wilderness are Beth Hillman,  a life coach for parents and mom to a post-wilderness teen, and part-time co-host Seth Gottlieb, a wilderness therapy guide turned teen and young adult recovery coach.  Their unique combination of experience and training yields candid conversations chock full of practical, actionable tools to smooth the challenges both parents Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Everything is Going According to Plan

Are you willing to consider that everything is going exactly according to plan? I know, I know. It’s crazy. But just for fun. What if? What if what is happening right now, is supposed to happen. Then what? Would you be able to breathe again? Would you be able to trust again? Would you be able to laugh again? If everything is going exactly according to plan, what could change for you right now? How would Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Dear Wilderness Child…

Dear Wilderness Child, Angry Hurt Confused Threatening Untrustworthy Desperate Blaming Non Communicative Childish Child, please forgive my emotional roller-coaster of reactions (see above) and my ineffective parenting choices. It was all I knew then. I was acting out of fear, guilt, and disappointment. I know I was in a lot of pain, but I also caused a lot of pain.  I am learning a new way now. Thanks for taking the first step – the call Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

River of Life

Life can be crazy. I sometimes feel like I’m navigating class 5 rapids on the river of no return… I wonder when we might catch some calmer waters. But- This. Is. Life. And I’m frankly surviving at times and thriving at times. It’s a perfectly mixed boat of blessed sunshine and complete annihilation. What if my contribution as a parent was to simply be an example of how to get back into the boat and try Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Brewing Something New

Our lovely brains want us to figure life out right now. They want us to stop the madness this very minute. Put an end to the pain, disappointment, sadness, and anger. Our brains think it’s too hard. Our brain’s job is to keep us safe and the same, regurgitating old patterns of thought with the same old result–even if this pattern causes more pain than necessary. If it’s familiar, our brain will choose the usual pattern Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Going on a Bear Hunt

We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day. We’re not scared. Uh oh, grass. Long, wavy grass. Can’t go under it. Can’t go over it. Oh well, we’ll have to go through it. Swishy, swashy, swishy, swashy, swish. When life throws grass in your path, you may not complain much. But as times get tougher we end up dealing with rivers, mud, forests, snowstorms, and even bears! Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

When Things Go Wrong

When things go wrong.  Sometimes hard things happen that are not planned. They are not expected, predicted, anticipated, or considered. Then BAM! This huge and mighty weight falls upon our lives and we are caught off guard, with no free hands to catch ourselves. We are left swirling and spinning in a downward spiral of fear, regret, dismay, and shock. Ever been there? Yeh, me too.  Life is full of surprises, especially lately, and there is Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Listening to Allow Feelings

Everyone is entitled to seek out their own path leading from the darkness into the light. Watching a loved one or a peer traverse a path littered with stumbling blocks can be immensely painful. We instinctively want to guide them toward a safer track and share with them the wisdom we have acquired through experience. Yet all human beings have the right to carve their own paths without being unduly influenced by outside interference. To deny Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Allow others to walk their own path

Everyone is entitled to seek out their own path leading from the darkness into the light. Watching a loved one or a peer traverse a path littered with stumbling blocks can be immensely painful. We instinctively want to guide them toward a safer track and share with them the wisdom we have acquired through experience. Yet all human beings have the right to carve their own paths without being unduly influenced by outside interference. To deny Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago

Unsolicited Advice

Lately I’ve been giving Mr. 17 (mostly) unsolicited advice. He’s trying to sell his truck. He’s looking for another job. He’s sick and tired of our small town and wants the fastest ticket to anywhere. I have lots to say about these things. After all, I’m older, wiser, have been through these same things, but he wants nothing to do with my awesome advice.. Why wouldn’t my advice be heated with the utmost of attention? Why Read more…

By Beth Hillman, ago