Parent to Parent Presents: The Characteristics of Our Tweens and Teens That Make Us Lose Sleep (And how to respond without feeling helpless!)

Parent to Parent Presents:  Three Workshops on Understanding and Interacting with Pre-Teens & Teenagers.  Come to one, two, or all three!

Back by popular demand, Rick Irving, LICSW will speak to parents about effectively communicating with children even before they hit adolescence.  Rick is a clinical social worker for the Andover Public Schools and has a private practice in Winchester.

Second Session: The Characteristics of Our Tweens and Teens That Make Us Lose Sleep (And how to respond without feeling helpless)

Adolescents go through tremendous growth, changes and emotions. They need our help and, at the same moment, often strenuously resist our efforts. They employ a constantly shifting array of coping mechanisms, from effective to self-destructive. We will cover depression, anxiety, isolation, methods our adolescents use to escape from pain. In this workshop we will cover: why our children act and react the way they do; behavior as meaning and communication; how to respond to resistance, anger and withdrawal; the importance of saving face; the struggle between dependence and independence; techniques for creating psychologically safe supports and language and approaches to use in establishing emotionally safe interactions. 

*Please note: The First Congregational Church has generously provided funding and the space to make this series possible; however, there will be no religious content in the program. These workshops are free and open to the public.

Snow-date: Tuesday, March 12th