Cara works with teenagers to build the confidence, skills, and mindset to thrive and produce results.

It’s tough to be a teenager! It’s arguably even more complicated now than ever. One thing that’s remained consistent is that young people are getting messages all around them to be a certain way here, and there, and everywhere. Be a certain way around parents, be a certain way at school, around teachers, in public, with peers, on social media. Messages like: don’t act like that, don’t talk like that, don’t dress like that… act like this, speak like this, dress like this. They are constantly getting messages to conform while simultaneously trying to establish and express their independence as individuals.

A common behavior among teenagers is to act out. Another common behavior is to shut down. We relate to these behaviors as problematic, but teens are actually trying to communicate. They might grumble one word responses to questions, roll their eyes, break rules, yell and get angry, withdraw, be sullen, be silent… all sorts of what can be challenging behaviors for the people around them. Usually what’s happening is that under the surface they are dealing with intense, churning emotions that they have not yet developed the skills or the emotional intelligence to be able to process or understand. Even if what they are struggling with is clear to them, they most likely don’t have the communication skills to be able to articulate what’s going on in an effective and productive manner to the adults in their lives.