Hi Reader,

Recently, my time has been filled with preparing for SIX presentations I'm either presenting or co-presenting this fall, which got me thinking....what tidbits of information from these sessions should I share in these Allergy Counseling Zone emails?

While I can't go as in depth as I will in these presentations, these next few emails will share little snippets of clinical information that you can dig deeper into as time allows. So let's jump right in!

Did you know that there are a variety of approaches you can use to assess the psychosocial impacts of living with food allergies?

I'm not talking about formalized assessment tools, but rather, assessment viewpoints. Think of the various approaches as the lenses with which you look through. Each lens helps you see the same things, just from different points of view, revealing new considerations.

Today, let's look at assessing the psychosocial impacts of food allergy through a developmental lens. More specifically, how food allergies impact parental development, the child/adolescent/adult developmental process, and the development of one's identity.

1. Impacts on Parental Development: As children move through their stages of development, parents move through stages of their own parent development. Ideally, these two developmental areas would grow alongside each other, but when a life-impacting and potentially life-threatening food allergy diagnosis enters the picture, there's more potential for the two to not be in sync. It can feel hard for parents of kids with food allergies to allow for age-appropriate experiences that directly impacts a child's own development.
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   Therefore, when working with parents of children or teens with food allergies (or any chronic health condition for that matter), it's useful to inquire about how disease management impacts their parental development. Are they able to be the parent they *want* to be? Does the food allergy impact how they parent? Do they find themselves unwilling to allow their kids age-appropriate experiences due to fear? These are areas where mental health clinicians can dig deep and help parents understand the value of realigning their parental development to their child's developmental needs and their own non-allergy parenting goals.
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2. Impacts on Child, Adolescent and Adult Development: Especially if parents find that food allergy management impacts how they parent, there's a good chance that a child/teen's development may be impacted as well. And if that's the case, then young adults in those scenarios may arrive at the gates of independence without enough of the necessary age-appropriate developmental and food allergy management skills in their toolkits.
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   But even when parents are able to effectively manage their food allergy anxiety, a child/teen's own development may still be impacted by their own thoughts and feelings. Maybe they're shy and struggle to speak up in order to stay safe at school, and therefore, are missing out on activities? If their parents have exhibited high levels of food allergy anxiety and over-avoidant behaviors, maybe they feel underprepared to navigate their teen and young adult years with food allergies? Therefore, it's useful to explore individual developmental growth and how living with food allergies may be impacting it, focusing on skill-building to bridge any gaps.
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3. Impacts on Identity Development: Going hand-in-hand with child/adolescent/adult development, it can be useful to explore how living with food allergies impacts the individual's AND family's identity. Does the food allergy serve as a core label ("The allergy child" or "The food allergy family")? Are they able to prioritize other parts of their identity as well? It can be useful to explore whether there's any balance between all of these parts of their identity, and whether there is motivation to find a better balance, if needed.

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So glad to connect with you again! In the next Allergy Counseling Zone email, I'll offer another lens for assessing the psychosocial impacts that food allergies have on individuals and families. But for now, it's back to conference prep!
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I love connecting with readers, so please feel free to respond to this email to say hi, let me know what you're enjoying and what you'd like to read about in future emails.

And as always, don't forget to take good care of yourself, too!

Founder & CEO, The Food Allergy Counselor
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
AAAAI & ACAAI Allied Health Member

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DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical or mental healthcare advice of your own healthcare provider. By reading this email, the reader acknowledges that there is no therapist-patient relationship between them and the author(s). If you think you are observing a medical or mental health emergency, call 911 immediately.​
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