COACHING young teens & teenagers

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I use more of a standard coaching method with the older kids, helping them learn the concepts from each story but more through discussion learning, relating the specific skill back to their personal lives and with more structured practice activities. We discuss real examples and situations from their own lives and I help them develop the critical tools needed to build a supportive mindset. We also plan their take-home activities and exercises together based on the teenager's specific needs so they can practice in between sessions. 

Older kids need a more direct approach rather than a full storytelling method + sensory activities as they can grasp the lesson being learned a lot easier. Teenagers and young teens are also more inclined to work with a life coach  as it will feel empowering for them, but it depends on what they are experiencing daily and their emotional development and mental health journey. 

Mindset development is fascinating for young teens and teenagers as they learn it is essential to have a supportive mindset in order to get where they want to go in life. They have fun learning this through brain science and brain development.  

They also learn that they always have a choice in every situation with how they respond to it and how they handle the situation. I also help them learn the critical mental tools to help regulate their nervous system when they are feeling big emotions or feeling overwhelmed. 

Teenagers moods can go up and down, they can be very intense. This is very normal for adolescent years. Stress on its own is not grounds for concern. What's important is how they handle their overwhelming feelings. 

When coaching older kids, I still leverage the WISDOM system but with a more direct approach for teenagers. This approach still engages the 3 critical regions of the brain (the intellectual, emotional, and physiological regions), but through a more direct method rather than combined with sensory activities, which are more beneficial for the younger kids.