You are at your wits’ end. What do you do? How do you respond to your child’s latest bout of misbehavior or aggression? How does one deal with a teen who seems to be impervious to all your usual disciplinary measures? The problem is that your teen may be getting into deeper trouble. The rebelliousness, rudeness and reckless behavior can get your teen into the wrong kind of friends, into drugs or even into jail. His actions may not only...
Do you often feel that your teen has never outgrown the so-called terrible twos? Is your teen persistently belligerent, irritable and uncooperative? Is your child simply strong-willed or does his behavior point to something else? It may be useful to look more deeply into your child’s troublesome behavior to check whether he is simply being difficult or may be exhibiting symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder. What is Oppositional Defiant Disorder? Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD is marked by disruptive, defiant...
When looking for troubled teen therapy and programs, one usually encounters the term “cognitive behavior therapy”. What is it and how can we harness it to deal with behavioral issues that our teens may have? What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? This is a treatment or psychotherapy modality that aims to develop self-awareness and critical thinking so that it positively affects one’s actions. Part of the self-awareness is recognizing that it is not external factors such as people, happenings and circumstances...
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, suicide among 15 to 24 year olds falls as the top three cause of death. This translates to roughly 5,000 teenagers who die by their own hand every year and more than 120,000 suicide attempts. As parents, these statistics give one fear: “What if it happens to my child?” Does my child have a high risk for teen suicide? The stresses that teenagers experience (failing a test, having one’s heart broken,...
Often, the obstacle against helping a troubled teen struggle against drugs is misinformation. There are a number of misconceptions about this issue that can cause fear and complicate the path towards healing and recovery. Thus, these misconceptions regarding drug addiction and its treatment should be confronted head on so that those involved (the teen and his loved ones) can make informed choices (about a possible troubled teen program) and face the road to healing with realistic expectations. Here are some...
Does a teen wilderness program look like an attractive option for your troubled teen? Do you think some time with a physically challenging program and exposure to nature help him come to terms with his feelings and how he is behaving? Are you having some niggling doubts about the effectiveness of such a program? Here are some things you need to look into to help you determine whether wilderness therapy will be helpful for your teen: - Benefits being offered....
A parent’s t-shirt proudly proclaims, “I survived the teenage years”. Indeed, embattled parents of teenagers often feel that the all the years leading up to the teenage years (including the sleepless nights and the terrible twos) are just a walk in the park. But where do we draw the line between “normal” teenage angst and outright rebellion? How do you know whether your teen simply needs a firm parenting or much more – such as intervention from an experienced therapist...
Successfully completing a troubled teen program is not the end of the journey towards recovery and maturity. A teen who has worked so hard to fight off the demons that hound him may be easy prey during a moment of weakness. When there is addiction involved, the probability of going back to previous bad habits is all too high. As parents, we need to be on the alert to ensure that our teen has the necessary support and safeguards to...
Landmines! One misstep and… boom! This may very well be what it feels like when talking to an angry, rebellious and moody teenager. When there are all kinds of indications that your teen is into some kind of trouble (i.e. drugs, gangs, criminal acts, etc.), how do you talk to your teen without starting a word war? How do you start connecting to your teen so that you know how to go about getting help for him? You can start...
It comes as a shock – your child has a substance abuse problem. And the hurt and disbelief sets in, when you realize you did not have any inkling, even when you thought you and your teen had a close relationship. Why didn’t your child come to you for help? Why did you not see the signs? The best place to start is to start understanding what led your teen into this path and why they don’t see the harm...
