This is your space for honesty and acceptance.
Building emotional awareness for Parents & Teens.
Parents Often Ask: My teen won’t listen to me.
Why would they listen to you?
I call this the Oprah Winfrey factor. Believe me… I understand. My kids won’t listen to what I am saying most of the time. They have had me around their whole life and they aren’t listening to me the same way that they would when they’re communicating with someone in their wider world.
Quick Scenario Quiz for anyone reading : Let’s say your life partner walks into the room right now and asks you if you’re having a good day. Think about how you would respond. Now imagine that you’re at the airport and Oprah Winfrey sits down next to you and inquires if you’re having a good day. Would you respond differently?
Admittedly, I’m not Oprah :( but when your teen has designated time to talk to a professional weekly and they understand that this person is here with the sole intention of listening to what they have to say….well, that changes a lot.
This first step alone goes a long way in allowing a young person to understand that their parents’ value their emotional well-being. Now the parents have established a support system beyond the home.
This is a new person, asking about thoughts, goals, fears, loss, frustrations and more. This is wildly different than talking to your parent or friends and the purpose now is not for them to explain to me but for each teen to consider the questions as they learn more for THEMSELVES.
Self awareness is a pretty big deal. I’m here to help.
Individual Sessions
No obligation to commit before we talk.
Each new Client begins with an introductory call: we decide to work together once we know we are a good fit and have had a real conversation. Schedule a 45 min call to check it out. This call can be for your teen alone, for you and your teen (at the same time)or if you’d prefer to talk first- we can do that.
Once we gel I’ll send you an invoice for a package (I recommend starting with 6 sessions so we can really get to the good stuff). You don’t have to commit to ANYTHING until after we’ve had a Zoom call- first priority is to figure out a plan of action to support your teen.
With a 6-session package we can build in the emotional intelligence that will help your child know and understand themselves fully.
One-to-One Sessions for my Teen
$165/hour Personal one hour sessions 16+. Meeting over Zoom weekly or twice a month to suit your schedule. Each session followed by email and review notes.
What is Teenlines and How Will the GROUP Work?
Think of it as INTERACTIVE "Dear Abby"
Do you have a teenager who is bursts into an emotional volcano each time you ask “Did you finish that assignment?”? Or the innocent inquiry “Will Scout be going with you?” which produces an audible sigh and slammed door response? I get it. I’m a mom of four (ALL teens in the unanimously-awful-year-of-2020, my girls and guys are ages 19-13) and I’ve had those same reactions from my kids. As their parent I wanted to know that they had a safe outlet. I wanted my young adults to take responsibility for their emotions, instead of placing the blame on outside issues. I wanted to know that they had a solid influence of wisdom and understanding. I wanted them to have a safe space to talk about ANYTHING they were struggling with. I decided to connect my kids with a life coach. As their parent, they had too much baggage with me, to hear what I had to say. I had my hands full trying to balance our day-to-day relationship as family without feeling ready to boil over every time they rolled their eyes at me.
This was life changing.
My teens learned what it meant to start to recognize their own emotional habits. They started taking responsibility for their actions and emotions. They started communicating better.
That’s when I created Teenlines. I had been working individually with parents and teens as a counselor for the last 20 years. For Individual Sessions OR Groups- I realized that this opportunity could reach more teens and create a social interaction (rather than offering only the traditional counselor/client 2 person exchange) with the group dynamic. The group allows the extroverts room to speak and a place to be honest and anonymous. The group allows the introverts to contribute without the spotlight on them or the intensity of a 1 hour therapy session. The casual set-up and online meetings allow kids from around the world to connect and build that unique bond that comes from hearing someone’s truth, without the false front that we put on when we are trying to impress others. Meeting over Zoom provides the comfort of their own space and ability to connect with new people.
Small groups, peer relationships and open-ended questions are the core of what makes social emotional learning work in Teenlines. Reasonably priced at less than the price of one hour individual Counseling. I call it “group-therapy light”. This is not a substitute for medication or psychiatric help. This is a space for support, growing, learning and self-awareness. There are no right or wrong answers here- just learning to recognize our own tendencies: keeping what works and sharing ideas for changing the patterns that aren’t working.
