Dan Siegel, Janet Edgette, Ben Furman, Charlotte Reznick, Martha Straus, Lynn Lyons, Ron Taffel & Papernow – Why Kids Hate Therapy and What You Can Do About It
Clinical innovators Dan Siegel, Janet Edgette, Ben Furman, Charlotte Reznick, Martha Straus, Lynn Lyons, Ron Taffel, and Patricia Papernow want you to know that you aren’t alone in your struggle to engage young clients.
We’ve talked with these leading experts one-on-one, and they’ve shared the tools and approaches they use to address the increasingly disregulated, shut-down, anxious, insecurely attached, and emotional distressed kids and teens they see in clinical practice today.
We want to share their insight with you in a new online course that you don’t want to miss: Why Kids Hate Therapy and What You Can Do About It.
In this 10-part online video course you’ll learn:
- Concrete approaches for engaging and connecting with today’s distracted and resistant youth
- Powerful methods for helping kids process uncomfortable emotions like anger, anxiety, grief, sadness, and fear
- Key strategies for creating an atmosphere that encourages play, risk-taking, and creativity
- Proven steps for incorporating mind-body methods and mindfulness practices
- How to involve parents in treatment and give practical guidance to support their child’s changes at home
- Principles for helping blended families minimize disruption and function effectively
Here's what you'll learn from each speaker...
Session 1: Parenting with the Brain in Mind
Dan Siegel, M.D.
Dan Siegel, M.D.
Explore the proven applications of neuroplasticity that you and parents can use to connect with kids and teens. Learn how to:
- Use the brain-based intervention SNAG (Stimulate Neural Activation and Growth) with young clients
- Establish right hemisphere to right hemisphere connection with kids so they feel valued and understood
- Co-construct narratives with children in ways that enable left and right brain integration and enhance their ability to self-regulate
- Customize interventions to meet a child’s needs by working with the four levels of implicit memory—procedural, emotional, bodily, and perceptual
- Enhance consciousness and increase a child’s sense of self by using Dan’s Wheel of Awareness tool
Session 2: Child Therapy without Problems: The Kids Skills Approach
Ben Furman, M.D.
Ben Furman, M.D.
Discover a fun way to help young clients who suffer from behavioral problems, anxiety, and other issues by:
- Learning to avoid problem and pathology-based language in favor of focusing on the skills children need to move toward goals they themselves value
- Emphasizing hope and playful collaboration in generating solutions
- Understanding how to apply the principles of Kids Skills differently with younger children than with teenagers
- Involving friends and a child’s social network in generating positive feedback cycles and solutions
- Mastering the skills of strategic praise, effective apology letters, and turning nightmares into “goodmares”
Session 3: Using Mindfulness and Meditation with Kids
Charlotte Reznick, Psy.D.
Charlotte Reznick, Psy.D.
Learn how to use meditation, mindfulness, and imagery (MMI) to help kids and teens access their inner wisdom. You’ll learn how to:
- Adapt mindfulness and other “adult” practices to various stages of cognitive and emotional development in kids
- Enhance your ability to help kids cope with uncomfortable emotions like anxiety, anger, sadness, grief, and fear
- Increase kids’ capacity to focus their attention and better achieve peak performance in school and other areas of life
- Involve parents in therapy and make sure they support their children’s use of mindfulness and imagery practices at home
Session 4: Busting the Myths of the Teenage Brain
Dan Siegel, M.D.
Dan Siegel, M.D.
Learn the benefits of helping both teens and their parents develop a fuller understanding of how the adolescent brain works. Discover how to:
- Integrate the latest research on teenage brain development into your approach
- Challenge beliefs about “the raging hormones” driving teenage behavior and other negative misconceptions
- Appreciate the upside of the teenaged brain, including the search for novelty, risk-taking, and creativity
- Use specific strategies for empowering teens based on fuller knowledge of how their brains are organized to shape their thinking and behavior
- Help parents use knowledge of their children’s brain to enrich their relationship with them
Session 5: Engaging Kids Who Hate Therapy
Janet Edgette, Psy.D.
Janet Edgette, Psy.D.
Increase your ability to work with resistant adolescents who find standard therapeutic approaches artificial—even infuriating. You’ll learn:
- How to avoid standard therapeutic pitfalls like excessive questioning, walking on egg shells, and relying on premeditated protocols
- How to build conversations with teens that are therapeutic without sounding that way
- Specific strategies to use with kids who burrow into silence, express their contempt for therapy, and provoke your anger
- How to establish yourself as a trustworthy presence with strategies bringing more accountability into the therapy relationship
Session 6: Brain to Brain: Soothing the Traumatized Adolescent
Martha Straus, Ph.D.
Martha Straus, Ph.D.
Find out about an approach based on therapeutic co-regulation in which the clinician “loans” young clients his or her brain to help them re-regulate emotion. You’ll learn:
- Alternatives to the “timeout” as a disciplinary practice for out-of-control adolescents
- How to use modeling and mirroring techniques to help teens calm and soothe themselves
- Specific down-regulating techniques to teach kids how to manage their volatile emotions
- Up-regulating techniques to help emotionally suppressed teens express and embrace feelings
Session 7: Parents, Children, and Anxiety: Changing the Family Dance
Lynn Lyons, L.I.C.S.W.
Lynn Lyons, L.I.C.S.W.
Discover a 3-step approach to use with anxious kids and their often anxious parents that focuses on:
- Teaching the family about the interactive processes that reinforce anxiety
- Shifting emotional tone through humor and play
- Helping families externalize anxiety and develop alternative responses that normalize it
- Teaching children to talk back to anxiety and other means of self-soothing
Session 8: Reclaiming Parental Authority
Ron Taffel, Ph.D.
Ron Taffel, Ph.D.
Explore ways of enhancing parents’ ability to find their authentic voice and assert a shaping influence in their children’s lives by:
- Understanding the reluctance of post-boomer parents to assert their authority
- Making explicit the unstated parental fears that often disempower parents and enable their kids to hold them hostage
- Bringing the child’s Second Family—their network of significant friendships—into the therapy room
- Combating parental isolation through facilitating home-school partnerships and communication among parents
- Helping parents assert genuine authority through “I Mean It” moments in which they express themselves as three-dimensional human beings
Session 9: Family Therapy for the Postmodern Family
Martha Straus, Ph.D.
Martha Straus, Ph.D.
Enhance your effectiveness in working with kids and teens by understanding how parents can contribute to problems and effective outcomes; when to involve them in therapy and when not. You’ll learn how to:
- Conduct an initial interview that involves parents and focuses on collecting the information crucial to successful treatment
- Recognize the six situations in which it is preferable to see a child separately from his or her parents
- To use the language of play with your younger clients
- Slow down and let children set the pace of therapy
- Use family meals, rituals, stories, and drawings to increase and reinforce changes a young client makes in therapy
- Use yourself and your positive feelings toward clients to affirm both children and their parents
Session 10: Attachment Issues in Stepfamilies
Patricia Papernow, Ed.D.
Patricia Papernow, Ed.D.
Sensitize yourself to the distinct emotional challenges stepfamilies face and how to help them meet their challenges to healthy development by:
- Understanding the insider-outsider dynamics and loyalty conflicts inherent to the stepfamily experience
- Helping stepparents recognize the limitations of their roles in discipline and the best ways to develop one-to-one relationships with their stepchildren
- Learning three levels of intervention with stepfamilies: Psychoeducation, skill-building, and exploring intrapsychic issues
- Exploring effective strategies for handling conflicts with ex-spouses that can keep children out of the middle
- Mastering the “soft-hard-soft” approach to framing problems and addressing difficult issues in navigating the potential minefield of stepfamily relationships
Act now to get the tools and strategies you need to increase your effectiveness with kids, teens, and parents.
Why Kids Hate Therapy and What You Can Do About It
- Addiction Counselors
- Special Educators
- Psychologists
- School Psychologists
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Other Helping Professionals
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Nurses
Janet Edgett, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and author of Adolescent Therapy That Really Works: Helping Kids Who Never Asked for Your Help in the First Place and Stop Negotiating with Your Teen: Strategies for Parenting Your Angry, Manipulative, Moody, or Depressed Adolescent.
Ben Furman, Ph.D., is a psychiatrist and trainer of solution-focused psychotherapy. His books include Kids Skills in Action: Stories of Playful and Practical Solution-Finding with Children and Kids Skills: Playful and Practical Solution-Finding with Children.
Lynn Lyons, L.I.C.S.W., specializes in working with anxiety in children. She is the coauthor Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents.
Patricia Papernow, Ed.D., has worked as a trainer, consultant, and therapist with stepfamily relationships for more than 30 years. She’s a National Stepfamily Resource Center senior training faculty member and the author Becoming a Stepfamily and Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships.
Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D., is an educational psychologist and associate clinical professor of psychology at UCLA. She’s the author of The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success.
Dan Siegel, M.D., is a clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and codirector of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. His books include The Developing Mind, Mindsight, and The Mindful Therapist.
Martha Straus, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University New England and adjunct instructor in psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School, is the author of No-Talk Therapy for Children and Adolescents and Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Intervention and Hope.
Ron Taffel, Ph.D., is the chairman of the board of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York. His books include Getting Through to Difficult Kids and Parents: Uncommon Sense for Child Professionals and his latest, Childhood Unbound: Authoritative Parenting for the 21st Century.
Ben Furman, Ph.D., is a psychiatrist and trainer of solution-focused psychotherapy. His books include Kids Skills in Action: Stories of Playful and Practical Solution-Finding with Children and Kids Skills: Playful and Practical Solution-Finding with Children.
Lynn Lyons, L.I.C.S.W., specializes in working with anxiety in children. She is the coauthor Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents.
Patricia Papernow, Ed.D., has worked as a trainer, consultant, and therapist with stepfamily relationships for more than 30 years. She’s a National Stepfamily Resource Center senior training faculty member and the author Becoming a Stepfamily and Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships.
Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D., is an educational psychologist and associate clinical professor of psychology at UCLA. She’s the author of The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success.
Dan Siegel, M.D., is a clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and codirector of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. His books include The Developing Mind, Mindsight, and The Mindful Therapist.
Martha Straus, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University New England and adjunct instructor in psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School, is the author of No-Talk Therapy for Children and Adolescents and Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Intervention and Hope.
Ron Taffel, Ph.D., is the chairman of the board of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York. His books include Getting Through to Difficult Kids and Parents: Uncommon Sense for Child Professionals and his latest, Childhood Unbound: Authoritative Parenting for the 21st Century.
Bonus Video
The Bullying “Epidemic”: Myths and Realities
Stan Davis
Stan Davis
Do you feel ill-equipped to help a client who is being bullied? Stan Davis offers a systematic approach for helping bullied young people build inner strength, while working with families and schools. You’ll learn how to avoid ineffective interventions, understand how digital technology has shaped today’s cyber-bullying culture, and more.
The Power of Play and Humor
Lynn Lyons, L.I.C.S.W.
Lynn Lyons, L.I.C.S.W.
Have you ever wished you could transform therapy from serious business to a lighter, more creative experience in order to connect with cagey kids and teens? Find out how with Lynn Lyons, and get strategies for concrete goal-setting, externalization, and role-playing that can normalize problems and create more liberating ways to deal with them.
How to Connect with Today’s Chronically Dysregulated Teens
Ron Taffel, Ph.D.
Ron Taffel, Ph.D.
Do you feel stuck with wary young clients allergic to anything that sounds like textbook therapy? Get a contemporary approach you can use immediately from Ron Taffel to make therapy come alive for resistant young clients. You’ll learn how to make an impression on teens and become a more meaningful presence in their lives by using banter, storytelling, and ritual to get their full attention.
A Simple, Effective Approach for Working with “Troublesome” Kids
Ross Greene, Ph.D.
Ross Greene, Ph.D.
Have you ever thrown up your hands in frustration when working with a “troublesome” kid? Get help you can use right away from Ross Greene—recognized master at working effectively with hard-to-manage, oppositional, sometimes explosive kids.
Overprotective Parenting
Michael Ungar, Ph.D.
Michael Ungar, Ph.D.
Have you worked with parents who get in their child’s way? Find out how to help troubled kids with overprotective parents become more resilient from Michael Ungar. You’ll learn strategies to wean parents from the culture of ubiquitous rewarding and over-praise, plus how to encourage children’s mastering manageable levels of risk and taking on more responsibility.
Act now to get the tools and strategies you need to increase your effectiveness with kids, teens, and parents.
Why Kids Hate Therapy and What You Can Do About It
Have you ever wondered?
- When it’s best to see a young client separately and when to include parents in session?
- How parents lose their authority with their children?
- What the best approach is to take with parents who are overwhelmed and stressed out?
- How a therapist can effectively help in the formation of a new stepfamily unit?
- How to connect with stony-faced teen clients?
- What to do when a young client texts during a session?
- How you to bring the benefits of mindfulness into your work with kids and teens without alienating them?
- How to create bonds of attachment with young clients who’ve been neglected, abused, or over-indulged?
- How you can set limits with kids and teens who are adept at baiting adults—including you?
Get answers to all your questions as you learn new approaches for working with kids, teens, and parents from leading experts Dan Siegel, Janet Edgette, Ben Furman, Charlotte Reznick, Martha Straus, Lynn Lyons, Ron Taffel, and Patricia Papernow in our online video course.
Sarah Mitchell (verified owner) –
Ben Furman’s session on Kids Skills changed my perspective on language and motivation. Brilliant stuff!
David Robinson (verified owner) –
I appreciated the real-world examples. Finally, a course that addresses what actually happens in sessions with shut-down teens.
Emily Chen (verified owner) –
I now feel better equipped to support parents AND kids in a more aligned way.
Michael Foster (verified owner) –
Straus’ perspective on co-regulation was exactly what I needed. Practical, sensitive, and effective.
Jessica Green (verified owner) –
Finally, a training that blends science with artful practice. So refreshing!
Daniel Ortiz (verified owner) –
This course helped me reconnect with my confidence when working with anxious and shut-down kids.
Laura Bennett (verified owner) –
So many practical takeaways. I’ve already used several strategies in my sessions with great success.
James Thompson (verified owner) –
The section on parental involvement made a big difference in how I work with families now.
Olivia Reed (verified owner) –
This course hit on all the issues I’ve been struggling with in practice. Highly recommended.
Christopher Adams (verified owner) –
Reznick’s session on mindfulness opened up a whole new approach for some of my younger clients.
Rachel Scott (verified owner) –
Janet Edgette’s approach was a wake-up call for how I’ve been talking to teens. Loved her no-nonsense style.
Brian Hughes (verified owner) –
Clear, engaging, and full of wisdom. Loved every minute of it.
Megan Patel (verified owner) –
It’s hard to find quality training that respects the complexity of adolescent therapy—this one delivers.
Andrew Morris (verified owner) –
A must-have resource for any therapist feeling stuck with disengaged youth.
Natalie Rivera (verified owner) –
This course completely transformed the way I engage with resistant kids in therapy. The insights from Dan Siegel and Lynn Lyons were especially helpful.
Jonathan Clark (verified owner) –
So grateful for the diversity of perspectives. Each expert brought something valuable to the table.
Sophie Allen (verified owner) –
The brain-based insights from Siegel were gold. I’ve already adapted the Wheel of Awareness for kids.
Ryan Brooks (verified owner) –
Extremely professional, well-organized, and relevant. I will revisit these modules again and again.
Chloe Sanders (verified owner) –
This was more than just CE credits—it was truly transformative.
Ethan Murphy (verified owner) –
Patricia Papernow’s module on stepfamilies gave me language and strategies I lacked before. Very insightful.
Isabella Wright (verified owner) –
The interview format made it easy to absorb the material. I could listen while driving and still get so much value.
Tyler Collins (verified owner) –
Every therapist working with youth should take this course. It’s validating and packed with practical tools.