1.1 Consider what your life was like growing up in your family of origin.

Did your parents plaster rules to the refrigerator and the bathroom mirrors?

Did you receive long lectures about what to do and what not to do? Or did your parents even talk to you? Make a list of fi ve spoken (explicit) or unspoken (implicit) rules or norms of behavior you remember from your family of origin. Be as specifi c as possible.

Could you list fi ve rules from your family of origin? What do you think of them?

What did you think of them when you were a kid? Do you still operate under these communication rules as an adult? As you examine the rules you listed, do you see any that might interfere with how you communicate today?