Why Your Child Triggers You (And What It's Trying To Teach You) | The Right Therapist

In this deeply compassionate conversation, psychotherapist and mental health social worker Vessal joins Laura Duggan to explore how becoming a parent can awaken our deepest attachment wounds while also creating opportunities for healing. Together they unpack why parenting is far more than a set of skills—it is a relationship that challenges us to confront our own childhood experiences, emotional patterns and expectations. Through the lens of attachment theory, trauma-informed practice, psychoanalytic psychotherapy and neuroscience, they explore perfectionism, parental anger, emotional regulation, rupture and repair, and what it really means to be a "good enough" parent. The episode also features a moving live therapy session where Laura explores how her own childhood experiences influence her parenting today, revealing how therapy can help parents respond with greater compassion, flexibility and connection. This episode is for new and expecting parents, parents navigating difficult moments with their children, therapists, and anyone wanting a deeper understanding of attachment, emotional healing and the lifelong relationship between parents and their children. #attachmentparenting #perinatalmentalhealth #parent-childrelationship #trauma-informedtherapy #psychoanalyticpsychotherapy #emotionalregulation #repair #secureattachment #parentingaftertrauma #childdevelopment #maternalmentalhealth health 00:00 – Introduction Parenthood opens us to profound love—and often to old emotional wounds. 02:00 – Meet Vessal Background as a mental health social worker supporting parents, children and families. 06:00 – Expectations vs Reality Why becoming a parent is both joyful and deeply challenging. 12:00 – The Inner Critic How self-judgment shapes the parenting experience. 20:00 – Good Enough Parenting Why children do not need perfect parents. 28:00 – Helping Children Build Resilience Allowing distress while remaining emotionally available. 37:00 – Anxiety, Anger & Shame Understanding difficult emotions in parents. 48:00 – Accepting Help Why parenting was never meant to happen alone. 1:02:00 – Live Therapy Session A real therapy conversation exploring parenting, anger, rigidity and repair. 1:53:00 – Closing Reflections Holding compassion for ourselves and our children.