Episode 115: Hope for Adult Children of Divorce, w/ Dr. Daniel Meola

Welcome to Episode 115 of the Being Human Podcast: Hope for Adult Children of Divorce, w/ Dr. Daniel Meola

What happens when divorce or separation of your parents is part of your story? This experience can oftentimes result in hidden yet painful wounds which can seem complicated and difficult to navigate. In this week’s podcast episode, Dr. Greg interviews Dr. Daniel Meola, the co-founder of a non-profit organization which ministers to adult children of divorce or separation. Sharing their own experiences as adult children of divorce, Dr. Greg and Dr. Daniel break open the impact that divorce can have on a child while also offering hope for healing and resources to help.

Discussed in this episode:

• Meet Dr. Daniel Meola and get to know more about Life-Giving Wounds, a non-profit ministry for adult children of divorce or separation;
• Dr. Daniel’s experience of his parent’s 15-year separation and eventual divorce, along with the resulting effects on his life;
• The hope and healing possible for each person, whether as an adult child of divorce or an adult who went through a divorce or separation;
• The desire of a child to have two parents loving him/her together, and the resulting pain that happens when it is lost;
• The tendency in our culture to not recognize parental divorce or separation as a loss to be grieved by the child;
• Annulment as more than just a spiritual issue with spiritual impact;
• Identity questions that can affect adult children of divorce due to the separation of their parents;
• Common ways that guilt for their parent’s divorce or separation can be experienced by adult children of divorce;
• How children highlight and amplify any interpersonal or relational issues already present in a marriage;
• Implicit and explicit ways that parents communicate to their child that the failure of their relationship was the child’s fault;
• The seven common wounds identified by Dr. Daniel’s ministry in adult children of divorce;
• The rejection and shame that can result in a child as a result of his/her parent’s rejection of one another.

Resources mentioned or relevant:

• Visit www.lifegivingwounds.org for more on Dr. Dan Meola’s ministry;
• Find an online Lenten support group to join;
• Follow Life-Giving Wounds on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook;
• Looking for help? Schedule a free 15-minute consultation call with our staff!
• Learn about IDDM (Mentorship), our new model of daily accompaniment;
• Become a member of the Integrated Life Community to get access to every course Dr. Greg has created;
• Download The Integrated App for access to free audio exercises, the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat, courses, prayer resources, and more;
• Sign up for Being Human, our weekly newsletter, to stay up to date on exciting developments at CatholicPsych;
• Visit our website to read the CatholicPsych blog, shop in the CatholicPsych bookshop, or discover other resources we have available;