It was one of those moments when someone’s trying to be helpful but says exactly the wrong thing. A student walked into the office while I was chatting with another teacher. In response to our cheerful “Good morning. How are you today?” he looked at us sadly and said, “Bad day.” “You shouldn’t say that,” …
No one wants to think about their teenager dealing with trauma, nor do they want to think about their teen abusing drugs or alcohol. Unfortunately, these two events are not only common for teens to experience, but they are also intrinsically linked. Understanding why experiencing a traumatic event places a teen at greater risk for …
3 Ways Traumatic Events in the Lives of Teens Impact Substance Abuse Read More »
Working with youth who’ve experience trauma in their lives can be both a challenging and rewarding endeavor and of course, is a multifaceted process absent of a “one size fits all” approach. One of the questions I often get in my trainings and at conferences is what to actually do when a youth struggling with …
A Critical Intervention For Working With Traumatized Youth Read More »
As I entered the juvenile hall to teach a Thursday evening meditation class many years ago, I tried to prepare myself for the level of emotion that might arise: it was Thanksgiving Day. In hindsight, I don’t know if I could’ve better prepared myself for that evening. Youth were emotional because they were incarcerated and …
4 Tips for Working with Marginalized Youth During the Holidays Read More »
Group work with teens can be both challenging and extremely rewarding. One of the responsibilities we as facilitators are charged with is mixing up content to curtail boredom—the feeling in youth that can easily snowball into disengagement, detachment, and less buy-in. When facilitating group work, whether it’s therapy-based, skills-based, or even a traditional classroom (yes …
Most of us know that working with teens can be challenging. For those of us conducting drug treatment, we this can be an uphill battle that’s so difficult that we can’t stay attached to outcome, or we’d be constantly disappointed. Oftentimes teens that are chronic drug users have no interest in stopping their use, an …
Substance Abuse Treatment Does NOT Happen In A Vacuum Read More »
Working with teens has its own unique set of challenges and often times as providers we’re relegated to positions of listener, mentor, and guide, regardless of whether or not we’re actual therapists or counselors. I have known many teachers who build authentic relationships with their students and in turn their students feel more comfortable talking …
3 Basic Counseling Skills for Working With Teens Read More »
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