Dialectical Dilemmas

Workshop Description

OVERVIEW Parenting teens can present with challenging dichotomies like being too strict versus too lenient or holding on too tight versus forcing independence. By showing our teens that we have this struggle, we can normalize the challenges and model healthy ways to problem-solve. Dialectical thinking refers to the ability to hold two truths that seem like opposites and accept there is more than one way to see a situation or solve a problem. We can make room for compromise, become more approachable to our teens, and avoid getting stuck in the “I am right, and you are wrong” power struggle. GOALS We look at adolescent–family conflict and how families get polarized, don’t see eye to eye and find themselves escalating or shutting down. We then teach ways of de-escalating and resolving conflict by walking the middle path between acceptance and change. Building a life is paved with skills, exposure, awareness of current emotions, and managing extreme emotions. The way of misery is not using skills, acting on unwanted emotions, avoiding and employing numbing behaviours. SPECIFICATIONS The course runs for ten consecutive weeks 60-minute sessions Homework will be assigned each week TARGET AUDIENCE This course is a build-a-life program orienting our clients towards such a vision from day one and using strategies throughout their journey to help them commit to building a life that they experience as more fulfilling. Many parents often struggle with emotional dysregulation while trying to implement parenting skills. Consequently, parenting becomes erratic, reactive, and extreme toward their emotionally dysregulated teens. This course accepts that parents and adolescents are doing the best they can and that a different life is possible with change. Families are experiencing challenges parenting their emotionally dysregulated adolescents are seeking the tools to identify dialectical dilemmas and possible solutions to reduce behaviours getting in the way of their life goals. INCLUDED IN GROUP TRAINING Handouts & Worksheets are provided weekly Coping Kit Materials FEES & REGISTRATION Upon consultation, the facilitator will complete registration if the course is appropriate for all family members. C$1795 for the first parent/guardian and first adolescent family member (12-18) C$595 for each additional family member