A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and Self-Harm in Teens
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and self-harm in teens is both challenging and heartbreaking for parents to watch. Often, it can be overwhelming to accept that your teen is in pain, but it’s critical to understand the motivations behind NSSI. Your awareness and support can make a monumental difference in your teen’s life, and in some cases, […]
A Parent’s Guide to Understanding and Supporting Teens Dealing with Anxiety
Some teens seem ambivalent, unburdened by the world around them, while others seem to take the weight of the world on their shoulders. It can be challenging to understand exactly how stress affects adolescents. As a leader in teen mental health, we’ve worked with countless parents of anxious teens around the country, helping them to […]
Understanding and Addressing Violence and Aggression in Teens: A Parent’s Guide
The teenage years can be tumultuous, filled with high emotions, growth, and change. Often, parents of teens have trouble distinguishing normal teenager behavior from red flags in teenage behavior. One crucial area of concern is aggression. True aggression is not just about teens acting out, it’s about behavior that borders on violent. It’s essential for […]
Returning to the Classroom: How to Prepare Teens for a Successful Transition
Our teens are struggling. Evidence shows rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance use, and self-harming behavior have increased, with teens and young adults reporting escalating levels of adverse mental health symptoms. In light of this evidence, we’ve prepared some tips on preparing your adolescent for the transition back to school after the summer, including […]
Gender Dysphoria in Teens
Most of us never gave much thought to our gender identity growing up. As we navigated our way through childhood and adolescence, we felt comfortable – for the most part – aligning with the expected behaviors associated with our gender. It was a non-issue. Sadly, however, that’s not the case for some individuals. They never […]
Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Teens
Angry outbursts, acting annoyed by the seemingly smallest things, defying the rules you’ve set, being spiteful, swearing, irritability, and making hurtful remarks when they’re upset. Almost every parent of a teen has observed these frustrating behaviors at least on occasion, and perhaps even numerous times, particularly during periods of high stress. Some degree of non-compliance […]
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) in Teens & Children
What is DMDD? A relatively new psychiatric disorder known as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or DMDD for short, may be the proper diagnosis if you’re dealing with a teen with a combination of mood symptoms and highly disruptive and intense behaviors. Frequent anger outbursts combined with persistent, severe, and chronic irritability are the primary symptoms […]
DBT Guide for Parents
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is gaining more and more exposure as parents and therapists are recognizing its remarkable value in helping teens with emotional dysregulation, self-harming behavior, suicidal ideation, and other mental health and/or behavioral issues. If your child’s counselor or clinician recommended DBT treatment, know that providing this therapy to your teen can be […]
Transgender Teens
Adolescence is a time of radical transformation. Teens develop physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. They form their own identities, distinct from their parents. They engage in an evolving, instinctive process of trial and error to learn about themselves and find their place in the world. Through a series of successes, failures, and everything in between, […]
Mood Disorders in Children and Adolescents
What are Mood Disorders? Broadly speaking, a mood disorder is a mental health condition characterized by a significant, prolonged emotional disturbance that affects an individual’s ability to function in their daily life. The emotional disturbance can be low, sad, and depressive, or high-energy, unpredictable, and manic. The type of disturbance depends on the disorder, and […]