I’m smitten, but I am worried that my boyfriend’s dysfunctional family will impact our relationship
Dear Annalisa, I have been dating my boyfriend (we are both in our 20s) for almost a year. I’m absolutely smitten. He makes me feel a better person,…
My sister gets into toxic fights with my mother. How can I help?
Dear Annalisa, I’m a 40-year-old man and worried about my family. Since my sister (in her late 30s) became pregnant with her first child four years ago, there…
I was brought up in an abusive family. Should I cut them off
Dear Annalisa, I’m going through prolonged issues that have churned up painful memories of my childhood and adulthood. It’s difficult to know how to go on, as my…
I worry my grandson is being harmed by his father’s negative behaviour
Dear Annalisa, I am the grandmother of a six-year-old boy. The mother divorced the father four years ago because of abusive behaviour. Although both parents are British, the…
My abusive parents won’t admit what they’ve done. How can I let go of the pain?
Dear Annalisa, I’m 43 and father to a wonderful daughter, whom I co-parent. I live abroad now but am British-born. My parents were abusive, and this left me…
I want to be a better parent than my mother was – but I’m failing
Dear Annalisa, There’s nothing like parenting to open your eyes to how you were parented, and I’ve discovered that I have an avoidant attachment style. As a…
Should I let my son see a relative who is on the sex offender register?
Dear Annalisa, A few years ago, my brother-in-law was arrested, cautioned and placed on the sex offender register (SOR) for two years, for downloading child abuse images. He denies it,…
My brother used to bully me. Now, when I hear from him, I panic
Dear Annalisa, I am 22 and my brother is 24. I am married with a child; he is single. We grew up in a rocky family…
Gifts from my partner’s mother have strings attached. How do I stop her?
Dear Annalisa, I’m struggling with the avalanche of presents my partner’s mother sends: expensive gifts, often in duplicate and triplicate. I’ve thanked her and tried to say that…
I don’t want to invite my father to my wedding but feel coerced into doing so. The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa My sister and I have always had a rather fraught relationship with my father. He failed to form bonds and took no interest in…
Annalisa Barbieri 
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