Creating Emotional Safety in Relationships: Finding Your Safe Person
Written by Alyson Forgione (Clinical Intern) | Edited by Monekka Davis, LCSW-C
What is a safe person?
A safe person is someone who you can trust completely. It is someone who listens without judging, provides emotional support, and allows you to express your feelings and thoughts freely.
Can you think of your safe person?
We all should have one.
There are a lot of reasons having a safe person is important for not only kids, but for adults too. Some of these reasons are as follows:
Emotional Support
A safe person can help anyone (but especially children) feel valued and secure. This allows people to express their feelings or thoughts without being judged.
Trust
Trust is important in any relationship, but when it comes to a safe person, you should always feel a strong sense of trust. For kids, this teaches them what a healthy relationship looks like.
Guidance
A safe person can be helpful for providing insight or navigating different challenges or conflicts. Especially for children, having a safe adult model critical thinking and coping skills is important during times of difficulty.
Crisis Support
In an emergency, or a time of distress, a safe person can be an important resource for a child or an adult when seeking advice, reassurance, or help.
Encouragement
Safe people help increase positivity and boost confidence for children and adults alike. Safe people are often our biggest cheerleaders, and want to see us succeed and be happy.
I know at the beginning I asked you to think of your safe person. After reading this, do you feel confident in who you answered with?
Overall, a safe person is essential for a person’s well being. People need people, and we all need someone to be our person.