Tag Archives: emotional regulation

Managing Your Teen’s Emotional Reactivity

One of the most common dynamics I encounter with families is this: when the teen starts to spiral into emotional reactivity, the parents go down with the ship! It often feels like parents don’t have a choice–it’s too difficult to watch their child in distress and the pressure is on to either put out the […]

The Power of Staying Calm

In ten years of working with parents, there are two words that have never led our work astray, “Stay calm!”  Most parents find themselves in trouble when their emotional reaction guides the conversation and the consequence. When emotional reactivity leads, several harmful consequences follow: your teen shuts down, you make threats you can’t (or don’t […]