Doesn’t matter. If you’re ok with being a little clumsy when you learn new things, the nerves will fall away with a little time. We’re not good at most things when we first start out. If you focus and stick with something, and keep building experience, in a relatively short time your strengths, confidence, and competence will naturally emerge.

I still get nervous or awkward periodically with a new client, often when they’re nervous themselves. But within the first session or two, usually within the first 30 minutes, I have a few moments where I feel a connection to them, I warm up to them, or see something endearing or interesting about them, and the tension disappears.

Having kids yourself doesn’t give you any advantage in working with them. Maybe someone with teens is more familiar with their world and daily lives. However, those of us with kids have the disadvantage of having our own fears, worries, and biases that we have to keep in check when we talk to young people.

You were a teen yourself, with teens all around you, so your ability to relate and see life through their eyes is not a stretch at all.

Yet more importantly, you’re a human being that gets caught in overwhelm, insecurity, or the feeling that you’re in it alone. Just like your adult clients. It feels real no matter what the details look like. And when you get your bearings back, you find your way again. So when you strip it down, we’re all going through the same thing. As long as you’re human, you’re more than qualified to help anyone that walks through your door.

This program and type of work isn’t for everyone, and it may not be for you. While it might be a potential income stream, give you a competitive edge, or maybe you already have potential young clients coming to you for help, having a genuine feeling of affinity, interest, and goodwill is a must-have as a helping professional. And compared to adults, teens do have a reputation for being less pleasant on the outside when you see them in public.

But in my experience, the ones that tend to come to us for help are either open and friendly up front, or are withdrawn or reserved in a way that’s surprisingly skin-deep. If you’re someone that WANTS to like teenagers, and willing to hang in there and get to know the one that’s right in front of you, this is an area worth considering.

Yes, I have entire sections of this program focused on working with parents because you’ll inevitably end up doing it. Sometimes teens really need the help but are too shut down, overwhelmed, or anxious to talk to me or anyone else, don’t trust anyone their parents recommend, or too troubled to show up for sessions. So I coach the parents to find their own well-being in the face of their troubled teen’s ups and downs, and to learn to see and respect the fact that they have moments of wisdom and perspective just like adults. I’ve found that working with parents, who are on the front lines, is an equally powerful way of helping a troubled teen.

​In fact some participants in this program will likely be drawn to working only with parents, and not the teens themselves. The more insight you have around seeing teens through the lense of the Three Principles, the more you can bring that insight to parents and provide the confidence, faith, and reassurance they’re looking for.

​And for those practitioners who want to work primarily with teens and not parents, you’ll still be interacting with the parents to set up and pay for the sessions, and you need their to trust and support what you’re doing. Understanding a few key elements in managing parent relationships will help you get the cooperation and buy-in from parents that makes them true allies.

Yes, in fact a big part of the reason I created this program is to bring insight and understanding to practitioners working with parents. If you’re one of those practitioners that’s inspired to focus on the next generation, to do something to address the rising mental health crisis in young adults, but have zero interest in talking to teens themselves, you’re not alone. My favorite part of being an adult is having the clarity and honesty within myself to admit where my energy and enthusiasm lives (and doesn’t live).

If teens make you want to flee the scene, don’t work with them! Working with parents, who are on the front lines of a troubled teen’s life, is just as powerful as helping the teens themselves. Of all the elements in a teen’s environment, the emotional state of a parent can have an influence that’s much more profound than the friends, the media, or the culture that surrounds that teen.

While I don’t provide a certification process for any of my programs, all participants of this program will receive a Certificate of Completion once the program ends.