Woodbury Reports, Inc
Bonners Ferry, Idaho

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Little Acts of Courage

At Cedar Ridge Academy, mindfulness, structure, karate and therapy work together as students take on the challenge of "little acts of courage"…the small steps it takes to tackle old negative beliefs and fears.

On today's Parent Choices for Struggling Teens, Rob Nielson, founder and Clinical Director of Cedar Ridge Academy shared with Lon how his program works with teenagers to change negative feelings from childhood and help them to move forward through self-awareness. "For many of these kids, those negative feelings (not being good enough, etc) or something that hurt their feelings at a young age, are the feelings they try desperately to avoid and we teach them how to work through them, to notice the feelings, to be mindful of what is going on and to recognize the physiological reaction."

"We take them out of their comfort zone and break it down into small steps," continued Rob, "because it takes time to desensitize these feelings. We teach them deep breathing, positive affirmations, that the process is good for them and we inspire them. We also believe an environment with a tight structure helps to create the safety they need to deal with the fears. There is a good catharsis from a process like this, yet it is a lifelong process." Rob also shared his favorite quote: "When you avoid, you attract what you are afraid of."

Karate is an important activity at Cedar Ridge Academy. Rob explained that teaching karate is the opposite of what people usually think. "Karate is not about violence," he stated. "It is about self-discipline and self-control, which take an enormous amount of energy to do and the students benefit from it tremendously. We teach them form, paying attention to how you hold your body, and are encouraging and nurturing within our teaching. Physical development, mindfulness and learning to be centered and focused help our students move forward."

"I want them to recognize their "triggers" so they don't go back to old patterns," he emphasized. "If they can do this, I know I have done my job!"

To listen to the full interview go to: Little Acts of Courage on LATalkRadio.
Also available in Podcast

Lon Woodbury is the owner/founder of Woodbury Reports Inc. and www.strugglingteens.com. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984 and is the host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens on LATalkRadio Mondays at 12:00pm, Pacific Time, Channel One.

Robert Nielson is the founder of Cedar Ridge Academy. Rob earned his BS in psychology from Southern Utah State College and his MS in Counseling and Educational Psychology from the University of Nevada. Rob has worked with adolescents and their families since 1990. Cedar Ridge Academy is a co-ed therapeutic boarding school for teen's ages 13-17 years old, which utilizes karate as an adjunctive to therapy. Rob has nearly fifty years of training and experience teaching traditional Karate and over twenty years as a practicing therapist in a treatment setting.

This segment of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens is sponsored in part by Spring Ridge Academy, Spring Valley; AZ. Spring Ridge Academy is a therapeutic boarding school for girls ages 13-17. www.springridgeacademy.com, 928-632-4602.