Empower My Teen

When your teenager is struggling, finding the right help can feel overwhelming. With artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT offering answers in seconds, more parents are turning to AI for guidance on treatment programs, mental health resources, and important decisions about their child's future.

But how reliable are those recommendations?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, I share a real experience involving a mother who used ChatGPT to identify five residential treatment programs, only to discover that three were no longer operating.

We explore both the benefits and limitations of using AI when...

One of the most confusing parts of finding residential treatment for your child can be figuring out what your insurance will actually cover.

I've worked with families who were relieved to learn they had residential treatment benefits, only to discover the program they were considering wasn't necessarily the same type their insurance company was discussing.

And I can understand why that happens.

The term RTC, or Residential Treatment Center, is used for both short-term stabilization programs and longer-term therapeutic programs. But those programs can be very different, especially when it comes to insurance...

For years, I've described wilderness therapy as the emotional ER and residential treatment as physical therapy.

In this episode, I explain the difference between these two levels of care, what parents can expect during the transition, and why progress may look different along the way.

When you've already seen your child make positive changes in wilderness, it can be difficult to understand why they may still need residential treatment.

And sometimes the slower pace of residential treatment can leave parents wondering if their child is still making progress.

If you're exploring...

Making the decision to send your child to a higher level of care is something no parent takes lightly.

By the time you reach that point, you’ve probably already tried everything you know how to do. You’ve hoped things would get better, held onto the good stretches, and wondered if maybe you had finally turned a corner.

In this episode, I talk about what happens emotionally when you realize your child may need more help than you can provide at home, and why making that decision doesn’t necessarily quiet the fear.

Did...

Have you ever had your child say something to you and immediately thought...

“That’s not true”?

“You don’t trust me.”

“You never do anything for me.”

“You don’t love me.”

As parents, our instinct may be to start explaining all the reasons they’re wrong.

But what if we waited for just a moment before responding?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, I’m talking about what happens when you and your child see the same situation completely differently.

We all have our own feelin...

Have you ever looked at your struggling teen and wondered, “Did I miss something? Should I have seen this sooner? What if I had done things differently?”

I hear questions like these from parents all the time. Sometimes they say them out loud, and sometimes I can simply hear the guilt in their voices. When our children struggle emotionally, behaviorally, or mentally, it’s incredibly easy to start replaying the past and searching for the moment when we think we should have done something differently. 

In this episode of Empower My Teen, I want to talk ab...

Have you ever looked at your child and thought, “I love you, but I don’t like you very much right now”, and then immediately felt guilty for even thinking it?

It’s one of those thoughts parents rarely say out loud. But when you’re raising a struggling teen, there may be times when everything you’ve been carrying becomes incredibly heavy.

In this episode of Empower My Teen, I talk openly about the complicated emotions that can come with parenting a teen who is struggling.

Maybe it’s another phone call from school. A...

Have you ever looked at your child and thought, “I love you, but I don’t like you very much right now”, and then immediately felt guilty for even thinking it?

It’s one of those thoughts we don’t usually admit. Not to our friends. Not to our family. Sometimes, not even to ourselves.

But if you’re raising a struggling teen, you know how heavy life can become.

Your mind is almost always on your child. You’re thinking about them while you’re working, having dinner with your family, or lying in bed at...

Is everything supposed to change when your child turns 18?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, we explore the pressure and fear that often surrounds this milestone, for both parents and teens. Society tells us that 18 is the moment everything clicks… but for many families, it doesn’t feel that way at all.

If anything, it can feel heavier.

We talk about the quiet anxiety parents carry as the clock seems to tick faster, the grief of unmet expectations, and the reality that emotional growth doesn’t follow a calendar. For teens, the pressu...

What if helping your teen too much… is actually holding them back?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, we explore a delicate but powerful truth: sometimes, our empathy can unintentionally turn into rescuing, and that shift can impact our child’s growth in ways we don’t realize.

When your teen is hurting, overwhelmed, or struggling, your instinct is to step in, fix it, and make the pain go away. That instinct comes from love. But over time, constantly rescuing can prevent your child from developing resilience, confidence, and the ability to navigate hard moment...

Have you ever looked at other families and wondered… why does this seem so much easier for them?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, we talk about something many parents feel, but rarely say out loud: the quiet heartbreak of comparing your child’s journey to others. From social media milestones to school achievements, it can feel like everyone else’s life is moving forward… while your family is struggling just to stay afloat.

This is what I call “compare and despair.”

Together, we explore the emotional toll of comparison, the grief, the fear, an...

No one prepares you for this part of parenting.

In this episode of Empower My Teen, we talk about the stress, overwhelm, and emotional weight that can come with raising a struggling teen. While we all imagine the early years, babies, milestones, and sweet moments, very few of us are prepared for the challenges that come later.

The teenage years can bring emotional storms, uncertainty, and moments that leave you questioning everything. You may feel lost, alone, or even like you’re failing, but you’re not.

In this episode, I share a powe...

Why won’t my teen listen… no matter what I say or do?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, we explore one of the most powerful mindset shifts a parent can make: the difference between connection and control. When fear and frustration take over, it’s natural to tighten our grip, but for teens, control often feels like pressure, judgment, or lack of trust… and it pushes them further away.

Instead, what they’re truly seeking is connection.

I’ll walk you through how shifting from control to connection can transform your relationship...

In this episode of Empower My Teen, I share a simple but powerful shift that can transform the way you connect with your child. It often happens without us even realizing it, your teen is opening up, sharing their story… and suddenly, the connection is gone.

Why? Because we unintentionally make it about us.

We dive into one of the most common communication habits parents fall into and how it impacts your child’s willingness to share. More importantly, I’ll show you a simple way to keep the conversation open, so your teen feels heard...

Is this just normal teenage behavior… or is something more serious going on?

In this episode of Empower My Teen, I walk through one of the most common-and most stressful-questions parents face. When attitudes shift, boundaries are pushed, and connection starts to fade, it can be incredibly difficult to know what’s “normal” and what might require deeper attention.

Together, we explore key behaviors to look out for, including changes in attitude, isolation, shifting friendships, dishonesty, substance use, and loss of interest in things your teen once loved. But just as important, we look at somethin...

In this very first episode of Empower My Teen, I share my personal journey as a parent navigating the fear, confusion, and heartbreak of watching my daughter struggle. What started as a search for answers became a life-changing path, one that led me to discover options I didn’t even know existed, and ultimately, a new purpose in helping other families.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice, unsure where to turn, or alone in your experience… you’re not alone. In this podcast, I’ll guide you through the complex world of parenting struggling teens, exp...