Managing Emotionally Intense Interactions for Parents of Teens

For many parents, it can feel as if they are required to do their best parenting in situations where they feel least equipped to exercise the skills they need to make good parenting choices.  This article will help you learn techniques for making healthy parenting choices when you are in conflict with your teen and…

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Teens Can Change Their Behavior Using Effective Cues

Watching your teen struggle is a unique challenge. Even when your teen is ready to change, it can be challenging to know what you can do to help. One technique that you can use to help your teen is using cues. When your teen is struggling, the situation can seem impossible. One of the most…

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What is bullying

Bullying is described as a behavior that: is intended to cause distress or harm, involves an imbalance of power or strength between the aggressor and the target, and generally occurs repeatedly over time. There is a line that is crossed when something goes from teasing to bullying and it’s important to recognize when and if that…

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DBT Skills: Improve Your Relationships and Maintain Your Self-Respect

Improve Your Relationships and Maintain Your Self-Respect One of the major components of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is Interpersonal Effectiveness, or improving your relationship with other people. One set of strategies that will allow you to improve your relationship with other people is represented by the acronym GIVE FAST. GIVE Skills are designed to help you maintain healthy relationships. FAST Skills…

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DBT Skill: DEAR MAN

DBT Skills: How to Get People to Do What You Want DEAR MAN is an acronym to help you remember a behavioral strategy that can make it more likely that you get what you want from other people. It is not a Jedi mind control trick. It is a strategy to help you assert yourself…

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Anger Management For Teens

If You Are the Parent of an Angry Teen, You Are Not Alone For a lot of people, anger is an unpleasant or even frightening emotion. However, even anger has a purpose. Anger can be motivating. It can show us the things that are important to us. It can give us the strength to act…

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6 Unhealthy Ego States

Getting into the Right Headspace: How to Recognize, and Avoid 6 Unhealthy Ego States by Trenna Ahlstrom Being the parent of a troubled teen is anything but easy. While trying to manage your teen’s problem behavior, it can be difficult not to engage in problematic behavior of your own. You might find yourself being unfairly…

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The Path Less Traveled

The Path Less Traveled It was a hazy January day with the moon just coming up over the mountains. (I get a little confused because mid-afternoon in the winter time can also be called dusk.) I had just spent the day at Discovery Ranch for Boys with the clinicians. Now, you may be saying to…

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Best Way to Help Troubled Teen Change

“If somebody had told me two years ago we’d be in this situation, I never would have believed it. To have come back so far is truly remarkable.” This family agreed to share the story of their troubled teen if we would agree not to disclose the family’s identity. Their son, B., struggled with grief,…

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