“Travel!” the floor coach yelled. “What?” said my 12-year old son, Solomon, as he raised his hands in the air, palms facing upward. A short exchange followed where the coach approached Solomon and tried to calm him down. It escalated. “Whatever!” Solomon yelled as he flung his arms in the air. It was clear he …
Mental Skills for Youth Athletes: Are You a Small Pup or a Big Dawg? Read More »
Most of my clients use drugs because they’re self-medicating symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, or other emotional or environmental challenges. They don’t understand the negative consequences, or they’ve decided the benefits outweigh the risks. If we’re going to ask teens to stop using drugs, we need to understand the perceived benefits as well as the …
One day in a Roots of Empathy program, a young mother brought her six-month-old baby to the class and asked if anyone wanted to hold him. The first kid to volunteer was Darren, a tough-looking fifteen-year-old who had a shaved head covered with a large tattoo. Darren had been in foster care for more than …
3 Ways Compassion Can Help Youth Impacted by Trauma Read More »
We’ve all seen the photos of spring breakers gathering at crowded parties, in defiance of social distancing recommendations. Those types of images might make it seem that all youth are blithely unaware of the impacts of COVID, but that’s far from the truth. In fact, the pandemic has had a much bigger impact on youth …
3 Ways to Help Youth with the Emotional Impact of the Pandemic Read More »
Many youth who’ve been impacted by trauma are resistant to therapy. Their self-protective behaviors and reactions are often misperceived as deliberately rebellious or disruptive. Because of this misunderstanding, the therapist may become angry, frustrated, anxious, or uncomfortable. These types of reactions tend to make the youth feel even less safe and therefore more aggressive or …
2 Tips for Working with Resistance and Traumatic Adaptations Read More »
Very early in my career, I began co-facilitating Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse groups, with no training in how to lead groups of youth. My partner and I went from one extreme to the other, lecturing the first cohort and then having free-flowing discussions with the next cohort. We gradually realized that the groups were much more …
4 Different Approaches to Leading Groups of Youth Read More »
Those of us who work with trauma-impacted youth also have to deal with our own trauma and stress. On top of the stressful nature of the work itself, we’ve all been impacted by our own life events. Over the years, I’ve worked with countless professionals who’ve gone through divorces, have lost family members, or who …
4 Self-Care Tips for Essential Workers During COVID-19 Read More »
This past week life on our planet has been significantly disrupted. Earlier this week the area where I personally live was put on a shelter in place order and toward the end of the week the state Governor had issued a statewide stay at home order to stop the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Weddings …
There are several ways to build rapport with youth, including the INCRA, deep listening, and skillful self-disclosure. It’s also imperative to work on those personal qualities that will contribute to our clients feeling interpersonally safe. These are less of what we “do” (interventions) and more of what we “are” (our presence, authenticity, compassion, etc.) 1) …
4 Qualities That Lead to Interpersonal Connection and Safety with Youth Read More »
A while back I posted 9 Guidelines for Teaching Trauma-Informed Mindfulness to Teens. As I mentioned in that post, formal meditation practice isn’t always appropriate, as it can sometimes trigger youth into trauma responses. That said, many young people can benefit from mindfulness meditation. These guidelines will help you safely and effectively teach meditation to …
10 Essential Guidelines to Teaching Meditation for Trauma-Impacted Youth Read More »
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