A meeting with students dedicated to issues of family, parenthood, and spiritual-moral upbringing took place at Brest State Technical University (BrSTU).
The speakers addressing the students were Evgeniya Mikhailovna Morozova, Head of the Department for Family, Maternity, and Child Protection of the Brest Eparchy, and Valeriya Valentinovna Panasyuk, an educational psychologist at BrSTU.
Evgeniya Mikhailovna spoke to the students about the foundations of traditional family values, emphasizing that the family is a space where a person learns love, responsibility, and fidelity. She noted that preparation for family life begins long before a family is actually formed - starting with an appreciation for the value of life, respect for elders, and a readiness to make a responsible choice regarding a life partner.
Valeriya Valentinovna continued the discussion with the topic "Learning to See the Individual Behind Familiar Parental Roles," drawing on Eric Berne’s concept of transactional analysis. This theory posits that every person operates from one of three "ego states": Parent, Adult, or Child. The psychologist explained that parents often get stuck in habitual roles - such as the critical parent, the overprotective figure, or the aggrieved child - and that recognizing these states helps one see the real person behind the role.
The students participated in reflective exercises, analyzing the roles they adopt when interacting with loved ones and identifying the barriers that prevent them from being *with* another person rather than *above* them. Combining spiritual and psychological perspectives on the family enabled participants to view the subject in a comprehensive, nuanced way; traditional values and psychology complement each other - the former provide meaning and direction, while the latter helps translate that meaning into everyday interaction.
