In Session with “Turning Red”

June 16, 2022

Join Dr. Sam & Dr. Fran as they travel to Toronto and back in time to 2002. That’s right – Disney’s Turning Red is on the couch.

The doctors are here to answer all of your burning questions. Including, what treatment is recommended to prevent a teen from turning into a giant red panda? To potentially answer this question, we provide information about emotions and emotional regulation. Much like the red panda, emotions can be big and misunderstood, but that doesn’t mean we have to hide them away in an amulet.

In this session, we also delve into adolescence and adolescent development. Relatedly, we discuss parent-child relationships. Mei attempts to balance autonomy and friendships while pleasing and respecting her parents. Her mother also accidentally stalks and embarasses her. Are Mei’s experiences typical of other teens?

Listen to this week’ session because 🎶 you’ve never met nobody like us 🎶!

Glossary of Terms

Erickson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development – a theory developed by Erik Erickson in the 1950s outlining 8 sequential stages of human development influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors throughout the lifespan.

Identity vs role confusion– the 5th stage of Erickson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development which includes adolescence (ages 12 to 18). This stage is often characterized by developing a sense of self, identity exploration, and learning roles one may fill as an adult.

Self soothe– any behavior an individual uses to regulate their emotional state by themselves.

Emotional suppression– consciously inhibiting or “pushing away” emotions when experiencing intense or heightened emotions.

Emotion regulation – using skills and strategies to influence and/or modify emotional experiences

References

In the context of Mei’s progression throughout the film, we discuss theories of child development and highlight Erickson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development in particular.

We also explore the impacts of high parental expectations and “over-controlling” parenting on how children develop. Importantly, we caution against using terms stigmatizing terms like “helicopter parenting.”

Through the lens of Mei, we discuss the importance of emotion regulation and how parenting and social support can help children and teens develop these skills.

Check out these short videos for some skills to improve emotion regulation!