Steady Ground for the Holidays
A 90-minute live workshop for parents of adult children who are struggling
When your grown child is struggling, it can quietly take over your life.
You worry constantly. You aren’t sure how to help, or whether your help is making things worse. You swing between compassion and resentment, between hope and dread. You’re tired in a way sleep doesn’t fix.
You love your child. You want things to get better.
But somewhere along the way, your own life has gotten smaller.
Steady Ground is for you, the parent. Your child doesn’t need to participate, or even know.
A Note From Us
Our family has lived through a long season like this, including money stress, mental health crises, broken trust, and the grief of loving someone we could not fix.
What began to change was how we responded.
We learned to steady ourselves before reacting, to recognize what we could and couldn’t influence, and to stop abandoning our own needs in the name of love.
We found our footing even while things remained uncertain.
Our story isn’t finished. We’re still practicing.
And that’s why we’re creating Steady Ground.
I’m Justine, a designer who has spent my career creating experiences that help people learn and change, in museums, universities, and business settings on four continents. I created Joy by Design, a practical approach to understanding your own inner life. Eric is my husband, and we lead Steady Ground together.
We do this as a pair because we carried the same situation very differently. Mothers and fathers often do. There is room here for both, and for anyone parenting on their own.
We’re Justine and Eric.
Who This Is For
Your child might be living at home, far away, or barely in touch. They might be dealing with mental health, substance use, or a life that has stalled. If you are a parent or guardian carrying that worry, this is for you.
Why the Holidays
The holidays can be especially hard. There are the traditions you want to enjoy, the family time you’ve imagined, and the other people you love who deserve your attention.
And then there’s the worry. Will they come? How will they behave? What happens if things go badly? You may feel guilty for dreading a time of year you’re supposed to enjoy.
How do you make room for everyone, including yourself?
We’ve lived this, too. The holidays are where our family has learned the most, usually the hard way. What we’ll teach in this workshop is what has helped us.
You can’t always create the holiday you imagined. But you can change how you move through it.
Why a Group?
This is isolating.
Friends don’t know what to say, and family often judges or minimizes. Most places offer advice when what you need is recognition.
Sitting with a few other parents who are living it lifts some of the shame, and that makes room to think.
Come alone or with a partner. The session is not recorded, and what is shared stays in the group.
This isn’t therapy, crisis support, or a program for fixing your child. If your family is in an acute crisis, this isn’t the right first step.
What We’ll Do
We bring two kinds of experience to this work: years of living through this in our own family, and Justine’s three decades of designing and facilitating experiences that help people see problems differently. Our tools also draw on research in psychology and emotional regulation.
We’ll use a simple design approach: notice what’s happening, get curious about the story you’re telling yourself, and experiment with a different response.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
Catch fear before it takes the wheel, by recognizing your own early warning signs
Sort what is yours to influence from what was never yours to control
Design your response to the two or three holiday moments you dread most
Protect one part of the holiday that belongs to you, even if everything else feels uncertain
You’ll leave with a written plan for the hard moments, and room for some joy of your own.
We’ll guide the evening and teach the tools. There will also be time to connect with other parents who understand. You can share as much or as little as you like.
Workshop Details
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 | 7:00–8:30 pm Eastern | Live on Zoom
$45 per household (one or two parents attending together)
Limited to 12 households. Full refund if you cancel by November 15.
You’ll receive the Zoom link and a calendar invite after you register.
A 90-minute live workshop for parents of adult children who are struggling
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 | 7:00–8:30 pm Eastern | Live on Zoom
$45 per household (one or two parents attending together)
Limited to 12 households. Full refund if you cancel by November 15.
What Comes Next
Can’t make the holiday workshop, or want to know what comes next? Leave your name and email and we’ll write when registration opens for the five-session Steady Ground Joy Studio in January 2027.
We’ll only email you about Steady Ground, and we never share this list.