Parents Living After Child Estrangement began in the spring of 2023 when my wife Renee and I really struggled to cope with parent-child estrangement.
When my search for the counseling and peer support we needed locally produced no results, I started this program. I'd started other programs before.
I first posted a query video to TikTok, as I wondered if we were alone in our grief.
The tsunami of responses quickly made clear that we were not. Via direct messages, emails, texts and phone calls, parents reached out to inquire.
Our first few attempts at peer support were via TikTok live. In fact, for our first ever "group" was scheduled for the week a spring storm knocked out power here in North Texas. Undeterred, I rented a hotel room and used their wifi. It was indeed a humble beginning.
While the TT live events went well and were well-attended, that platform does not allow the sort of peer interaction this work needs. Soon we transitioned to the Zoom platform.
I distribute our Zoom links in a twice-weekly newsletter. Sign up here.
Brian Briscoe, MS, LPC, LCDC