An Upward Spiral: A Developmental Approach to Parenting Your Teen
By Rick Johnson MSW
My child is on a downward spiral! This is a common response by many parents when they see troublesome behavior in their teen. They worry that this means their teen is becoming psychologically unstable. Yet these behaviors are often not because of deep-seated pathology, but instead are occurring as a result of their teen entering a new phase of intertwined psychological and social development. This is such an intense period of time that childhood psychological skills are not yet advanced enough to meet the new challenges of adolescence. This is why their teen is regressing and acting more childish. These earlier skills are not lost, but provide the foundation for the development of more advanced skills. This reworking of past skills represents a spiral upward, where behavioral regressions indicate opportunities to promote further psychosocial maturity.
An Upward Spiral tackles the serious subject of adolescent development. Written in an appealing format mixing personal vignettes and humorous drawings, the insight about how teens develop relationships, view their parents, and learn resilience is on target!
Russell Hyken, Ph.D., Ed.Sp., M.A. Psychotherapist and Educational Diagnostician
An Upward Spiral is written to parents, and explains what is going on developmentally for their teen. It allows parents to recognize that their child is not on a downward spiral, but instead is at the cusp of developing a new level of maturity. Based on this developmental perspective, An Upward Spiral provides practical ideas for parents to consider in developing strategies for promoting maturity in their teen. Suggestions for addressing teen disorders that may exist are also included, and for professionals an addendum describes how this developmental perspective can be applied to treatment using Summit Preparatory School as an example.
About the AuthorRick Johnson MSW is a clinical social worker with over thirty years experience working with teens and their parents. He has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been a child and adolescent therapist, and the chief administrator for a number of psychiatric hospitals and residential based treatment programs in Illinois, New Mexico and Montana. Most recently Rick and his wife Jan cofounded Summit Preparatory School, a therapeutic boarding school for teens in Kalispell, Montana.
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