"Always remember you are braver than you believe,
stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think."
-A. A. Milne
Today's teenagers have such a hard job. Growing up in our current social media driven world has introduced many new challenges for our teens that they are simply not equipped for. They are also challenges that you and I as adults did not have to face while we were teenagers.
I believe that today's teens need a lot of support, understanding, education, and consistent boundaries. While working with your teen, I take the same approach as family counseling. As I'm working with the teenager, I will also want to work with the grown-ups. Teens often need to learn new skills to learn to manage feelings of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, etc. I've noticed that parents need to learn to understand how to navigate rapidly shifting emotions as well as the new world in which our teens are growing up.
Parents and teenagers often get locked into unnecessary power struggles. One thing I am passionate about is making sure parents have realistic and developmentally appropriate expectations of their teens. We must keep in mind the brain development of our teens when looking at their behavior. I believe that all behavior is communication and our kids are constantly talking to us with not just their words but also their actions. Together, we will decode your child's behavior. I also want to build your confidence in communicating with your teen so that you have successful interactions together.