The Parent Hope Podcast

Grandparenting can be a gift—or a point of tension—depending on how generational differences are navigated. In this episode, Jenny Brown speaks with two special guests, Selden Illick and her daughter-in-law Alison Illick, about the subtle and powerful dynamics between grandparents, parents, and children. Drawing on Bowen family systems theory, they explore how patterns of anxiety, closeness, and loyalty ripple through three generations, and what differentiation looks like as adult children step into parenthood while their parents become grandparents.

Listeners will hear real stories of family life and discover how understanding family systems theory can help shif...

As parents, our worries can quietly slip onto our children’s shoulders.
But what if there’s another way?

This Mental Health Month (in our State: NSW), the Parent Hope Podcast explores how parents can support children’s well-being by first steadying themselves. Jenny Brown, founder and director of the Parent Hope Project, and Lauren Errington, executive Director of The Family Systems Institute, draw on Bowen Family Systems Theory to unpack how parental worry - often inflamed by mental health messaging - can be projected onto kids and how parents can step out of those cycles.

W...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Briony Scott, renowned educator and advocate for young people, to unpack the growing tendency to pathologise normal teenage emotions. Are we too quick to label sadness as depression or worry as anxiety? Briony explores how this rush to intervene can sometimes do more harm than good—and what parents can do instead to raise emotionally resilient children. From navigating girlhood emotions to tackling toxic masculinity , this episode is an essential conversation for every parent raising teens today.

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brionys/?originalSubdomain=au

This episode explores how parents can become confident, empowered partners in their child’s education. Through insights from an educator and head of student wellbeing, we unpack the real challenges both parents and teachers face when trying to connect—and what helps bridge the gap. You'll hear practical strategies for building trust, improving communication, and creating a shared sense of purpose between home and school as part of a broader commitment to student wellbeing.

Jenny Brown in conversation with Lisa Chalmers : Director of Health & Wellbeing at Barker College. 

Lisa Chalmers is the Director of Health & Wellb...

How do you help teens to raise their own awareness to the impacts of their screen addictions and to motivate them to stop doing it if they're refusing or denying that the phone's the problem?

In this follow up episode (see Episode 5), Vicki Wilkins and Jenny Brown respond to questions sent in at the end of a recent webinar.

They offer practical advice, urging listeners to consider a shift from reactivity to presence - focussing on setting digital boundaries, rooted in values and not panic.

If you're a parent, teacher or caregiver, this...

In this timely episode,  facilitator Vicki Wilkins interviews Dr. Jenny Brown — founder of the Parent Hope Project — to explore how parents and educators can reclaim calm, confident leadership amidst the chaos of the digital age.

Rather than focusing on fear-based data that leaves parents feeling overwhelmed or caught in  rigid control efforts, Dr. Brown offers a refreshing perspective: real influence starts with self-management, not child-management. Through insights and practical examples from Differentiation-Based Parenting, she guides listeners in considering a  shift from reactivity to presence—learning how to set digital boundaries rooted in values, not panic.

Listeners...

Bridging the Gap: Parents Relating Positively to their Child’s  Mental Health Service

In this episode, Jenny Brown and Dr Annemaree Bickerton explore how parents can effectively engage with mental health clinicians supporting their children. We discuss what parents can expect in terms of involvement, the different types of involvement that empower parents as key contributors to their child’s recovery, and how shared information builds trust. The episode also addresses the challenges parents may face, such as feeling intimidated by expert authority, and offers practical tips on how to ask for meaningful collaboration. Finally, we to...

In this episode, we explore a modern parenting paradox: how to be a supportive parent without overdoing it. Joining us again is researcher and family systems therapist Phil Kelver from Kansas, USA, sharing insights from his 20-year study of 50 families.

Together, we unpack his fascinating research about the effects of over-investing in our children, how parents can spot the subtle signs of doing too much, and what it takes to find a healthier balance in today's high-pressure parenting culture.

A thoughtful, eye-opening conversation for anyone navigating the fine line between care and control.

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Discovering that your child is self-harming is understandably fear- inducing for any parent. Drawing on Bowen family systems theory, PHP invites parents to consider first how they are responding when safety fears are raised – rather than focusing on the details of the self-harm and diagnoses.

In this podcast Jenny Brown interviews leading Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Annemaree Bickerton about parenting when a child is self-harming. They cover some of these questions:

What are the different ways parents might respond to a child’s cutting?

How can we make sense of young people’s self...

Goal setting – how parents setting applicable goals helps a family to function

In this first episode of 2025, Jenny Brown interviews Philip Klever, a clinician and researcher from Kansas City in the USA. 

Philip describes his research and what it reveals about the variations in what goals parents set and together they explore how goal settings and principles are connected for parents. 

In the Parent Hope programs, parents are asked to consider their principles when deciding on their position. Jenny asks the question: how are principles and goals related and are applicable goal...

In this rebroadcasted episode, from Season 2 Episode 7, Jenny is back in the hosting seat with guest Dan Papero.

Dr Jenny Brown draws on Dan’s rich experience as a Bowen family systems scholar, teacher and clinician. They explore how our families are both the seedbed for symptoms and a garden of recovery. They explore how parents can contribute to their family becoming a garden for the sustainable growth and flourishing of its members – including its children.

This conversation builds on Dr Papero’s keynote addresses at the 21st Family Systems Institute Conference. https://www.thefsi.com.au...

In this Rebroadcast of Season 2, Episode 5, the tables are turned! Michelle Varcoe, interviews Dr Jenny Brown to discuss:

To hear more about Michelle go to Season 2 Episode 4 or see links below.

About Dr Jenny Brown:
Dr Jenny Brown has over 35 years of clinical experience in child, couple, and family health. Her primary clinical and research interest has been in Child and...

Recent studies have found that several of these programs not only failed to help young people but also made their mental health problems worse. Jenny shares some thoughts about this and links it to the Bowen family system ideas of how focusing on a problem in a person can actually project or amplify that problem. 

Note: some of the research quoted is discussed in this NY Time article by Darby Saxbe professor of psychology at the University of Southern California

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/opinion/teenagers-mental-health-treatment.html#

Jenny reflects on parents' questions about why they would need to be involved in addressing a child’s symptoms if it is from the child’s genetics or brain wiring. Even when genetics plays a part, the research points to the important influence of the child's environment. Parents can impact the environment in many growth-enhancing ways – this is the basis of building parent hope.

The book mentioned is: Hudson, J. L., & Rapee, R. M. (Eds.). (2005). Psychopathology and the family. Elsevier Science.  https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-15038-000

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