Basically, the Adolescent Mind is about adolescence in general and adolescents in particular.  This workshop is
intense and experiential, and will stretch your belief system. The goal is simply to understand
the process of adolescence in its largest sense, then figure out what to do specifically with the youth you are dealing with.

 

The History of Adolescence and the State of the Adolescent Nation:

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Adolescence in general, or what's normal anyway?  This component includes a fascinating look at how older cultures have dealt successfully with adolescence and adolescents throughout history and across the globe, as well as a clear and disturbing look at the negative statistics surrounding our modern Western youth.  We'll also learn about the lost practices of Initiation and Rites of Passage in our country, and see how the classic Hero's Journey model can be used as a simple treatment model. In addition, we'll look at archetypal adolescent development, the way adolescence should be on any given day anywhere in the world.

Adolescent Development:

~	After seeing how teens have been throughout history in a multitude of settings and cultures, we start to distinguish between what is to be expected of modern teens versus what cultural/societal issues they are responding to.

Communication Skills:

~	What teens are trying to say, as well as how we can or should respond to them.  We also look at the myriad of techniques and tricks they use to manipulate adults with to get what they want, including emotional blackmail, denial, magical thinking, and threats.

Family Roles:

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We begin with a look at birth order characteristics, laying down a broad foundation for the way people tend to be based on the order they come into a family.  Then we look at what happens in a dysfunctional family, and how that dysfunction alters the existing roles into a negative flavor.  Family guilt, loyalty issues and generational patters are discussed.

Behavior Management:

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After studying teen behavior in the first course components, we begin to narrow down on tools and tips for adults dealing with teens.  We look at what works, or doesn't work, and why.  Workshop participants will be given a wide array of approaches to affect behavior change, improve supervision and control abilities, and to improve personal boundaries.

Anger Management:

~	We'll learn to recognize escalating behavior and what can be done to reduce the risk of youth "going off" or "flashing."  Appropriate venting, journaling anger patterns, and learning how to avoid having your buttons pushed will be explored.

Drugs and Alcohol:

~	We'll look at why youth are so anxious to escape or avoid daily life, how drugs affect developmental growth, and why many drug treatments and therapies are not working.

Gangs:

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We'll look at the roles that gangs fill for our youth and why gangs remain successful.  We'll look in depth at the multitude of ways kids directly and indirectly associate with gangs, how they show gang loyalty, disrespect other gangs through written and spoken language, the ethical shifts common to gang members.

 

 

The Adolescent Mind is also taught in an on-line format. Click above for information on this interactive Internet-based class....

 

 

 

 

For More Information Please Contact Bret@LabyrinthCenter.org

 

Last Updated October 1, 2003