As part of a series of events celebrating its 10th anniversary, clinical psychologists Kata Nagy and Eszter Füller led an experiential workshop on parental self-care.

Self-care—which, in short, means consciously and regularly paying attention to our own well-being—plays a fundamentally important role in everyday life, as the stress we experience due to the demands of our fast-paced world can lead to exhaustion. For parents who must cope with emotionally taxing situations over long periods—whether raising a child with ADHD, autism, or other special educational needs—self-care plays an exponentially important role. For these families, everyday challenges multiply, and the stress and anxiety caused by being constantly on call quickly deplete parents’ energy reserves. However, sustained attention to self-care can help parents stabilize their emotions, enabling them to respond more effectively to their child’s behavior and needs. In other words, when parents prioritize their physical and mental well-being, it has a positive impact not only on themselves but also on those around them.

During the workshop, Kata and Eszter used OH cards to discuss with participants how they are currently doing with self-care. The OH cards consist of picture and word cards, and we use them to help individuals talk about their thoughts and feelings through the free associations triggered by the images and words. Those present mainly reported that self-care sounds great in theory, but is difficult to put into practice in everyday life. At the same time, they must accept that they also serve as role models for their children in how they take care of their own needs and how much time they devote to rest and relaxation. They added that as parents, they bear a great responsibility, which is why it is very difficult for them to step out of this role, to allow themselves to rest, to acknowledge that they can also feel sad or tired, and that they, too, sometimes need help.

The second half of the workshop focused on gathering resources. Using picture and word cards, the participants first sought to answer the question of what resources they actually possess. They then identified resources they have but do not use, as well as those they do not yet possess but would like to have. It seemed that the cards brought to light aspects that they had either not paid enough attention to or had forgotten about. And this collective thinking had an inspiring effect on everyone present.

Self-care teaches parents that their love and care for their children will not diminish if they take care of themselves; in fact, by taking care of themselves, they can make their relationships safer and more balanced.