Facilitated by Amanda Carruthers  
(Child, Youth and Family Therapist)

The teenage years can be an emotional rollercoaster – for both young people and the adults in their lives. Many parents and caregivers desperately want to support their teen but aren’t always sure how to do that, especially when emotions run high, communication shuts down, or conflict escalates. This practical and engaging workshop focuses on helping parents build stronger emotional connections with their teenagers which support their transition to independence in positive, healthy ways.

This 90-minute workshop offers parents and caregivers a compassionate and evidence-based framework for understanding and responding to teens through an attachment and brain-based lens.

In this session, we’ll explore:

• Why emotions play such an important role in adolescent development, including how emotional development shapes teen behaviour

• How parents can help teens learn to understand and manage their feelings

• Practical ways to respond to difficult emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness

• Strategies for strengthening connection even during challenging moments

• How supporting emotional skills can improves wellbeing, relationships, and behaviour, and

• How everyday interactions can become opportunities to strengthen trust, communication, and resilience.

This psychoeducational workshop integrates insights from the Tuning Into Teens Parenting Program principles and current research in adolescent development, attachment theory, and neuroscience. Parents and caregivers will leave with a deeper understanding of how to tune in to their teen, what helps (and what doesn’t), and practical tools they can start using right away. You’ll also receive a takeaway resource list for further reading and support, along with suggested community and professional resources for ongoing help.

This workshop is designed to be supportive, practical, and non-judgemental. Parents will leave with simple ideas they can try at home to help their teen feel understood, supported, and more able to manage life’s challenges.

Suitable for: Parents and caregivers of young people aged approximately 10–18.