Teenagers Archives - Heather Hayes & Associates https://heatherhayes.com/tag/teenagers/ Interventions & Treatment Consulting Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:00:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.3 https://heatherhayes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-HH_logo-32x32.png Teenagers Archives - Heather Hayes & Associates https://heatherhayes.com/tag/teenagers/ 32 32 Building Family Connection and Secure Attachment: Foundations, Disruptions, and Tools for Healing https://heatherhayes.com/building-family-connection-and-secure-attachment-foundations-disruptions-and-tools-for-healing/ Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:00:53 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7100 Healthy families are built on two fundamental pillars: connection and attachment. When these are strong, family members feel safe, seen, and valued, which fosters emotional resilience, trust, and overall well-being. When disrupted, however, individuals can struggle with lifelong emotional regulation, relational difficulties, and mental health challenges. Below, we explore the foundations of family connection and […]

The post Building Family Connection and Secure Attachment: Foundations, Disruptions, and Tools for Healing appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> The Importance of Safety in Healing Family Dynamics: Insights from Judith Herman and Steven Porges https://heatherhayes.com/the-importance-of-safety-in-healing-family-dynamics-insights-from-judith-herman-and-steven-porges/ Wed, 17 Sep 2025 07:00:33 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=7091 Safety is a fundamental prerequisite for healing within any family system, particularly for members who have experienced emotional abuse. The pioneering work of Judith Herman and Steven Porges highlights the critical role of safety in the recovery process. Their essay explores the importance of safety, drawing on Herman’s work on trauma and recovery and Porges’ […]

The post The Importance of Safety in Healing Family Dynamics: Insights from Judith Herman and Steven Porges appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> Understanding the Reality of Autism in Teens https://heatherhayes.com/understanding-the-reality-of-autism-in-teens/ Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:00:13 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=6831 Understanding autism necessitates a nuanced comprehension of this complex and diverse condition. Considering the real experiences of real individuals enhances our ability to create an inclusive and accepting world where autistic people are supported, understood, and empowered. Teenagers are at a special time in their lives, at once navigating an exit from childhood and an […]

The post Understanding the Reality of Autism in Teens appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> The Hidden Architecture of Dysfunction: Robert Subby’s Family Rules Explained https://heatherhayes.com/the-hidden-architecture-of-dysfunction-robert-subbys-family-rules-explained/ Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:22:03 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=6926 In families impacted by mental health issues, substance use disorders (SUDs), or unresolved trauma, patterns of communication and behavior often develop in an attempt to maintain stability. Robert Subby, a leader in the field of addiction recovery and family systems theory, identified a set of family rules that often govern these families. While intended to […]

The post The Hidden Architecture of Dysfunction: Robert Subby’s Family Rules Explained appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> Family Roles, Rules, and Values in Systems Impacted by Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders https://heatherhayes.com/family-roles-rules-and-values-in-systems-impacted-by-mental-health-and-substance-use-disorders/ Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:30:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=6919 Families affected by mental health challenges and substance use disorders (SUDs) often develop distinct patterns of interaction, communication, and roles to adapt to ongoing stress and dysfunction. Understanding these family dynamics is essential for creating pathways to healing and recovery. Family Roles in Dysfunctional Systems When mental illness or addiction permeates a family system, members […]

The post Family Roles, Rules, and Values in Systems Impacted by Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> Challenges of Adolescence: Coping with the Pressure to Be Perfect https://heatherhayes.com/challenges-of-adolescence-coping-with-the-pressure-to-be-perfect/ Mon, 17 Mar 2025 13:45:16 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/?p=6741 The teen years can be extremely challenging. We tend to romanticise adolescence once we have left it behind, remembering it as a time when we were carefree and had many paths open to us. In reality, the years between thirteen and nineteen are fraught for many young people as friendships emerge and erode, academic pressures […]

The post Challenges of Adolescence: Coping with the Pressure to Be Perfect appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> The Importance of Clinically-Informed Therapeutic Recovery Companions https://heatherhayes.com/the-importance-of-clinically-informed-therapeutic-recovery-companions/ Wed, 26 Feb 2025 08:00:08 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/from-abduction-trauma-to-healing-rethinking-adolescent-transport-through-a-trauma-responsive-lens-copy/ In a society where mental health issues, substance use disorders, and eating disorders are on the rise, the need for dedicated support systems is more crucial than ever. Therapeutic recovery companions have emerged as a vital resource for individuals navigating these challenges, offering one-on-one support that helps to bridge the gap between clinical treatment and […]

The post The Importance of Clinically-Informed Therapeutic Recovery Companions appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> From Abduction Trauma to Healing: Rethinking Adolescent Transport Through a Trauma-Responsive Lens https://heatherhayes.com/from-abduction-trauma-to-healing-rethinking-adolescent-transport-through-a-trauma-responsive-lens/ Wed, 05 Feb 2025 11:31:10 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/the-paradox-of-impostor-syndrome-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder-overlapping-traits-and-concurrent-manifestations-copy/ For decades, the troubled teen industry has been criticized for its use of gooning—a practice where adolescents are forcibly removed from their homes in the middle of the night by hired transporters and taken to treatment centers. This process, often carried out without warning and using coercive force, has led many young people to describe […]

The post From Abduction Trauma to Healing: Rethinking Adolescent Transport Through a Trauma-Responsive Lens appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> Home for the Holidays: Navigating Communication in Family Systems https://heatherhayes.com/home-for-the-holidays-navigating-communication-in-family-systems/ Wed, 18 Dec 2024 08:00:04 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/unraveling-complex-diagnoses-the-intersection-of-attachment-disorder-complex-ptsd-imposter-syndrome-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder-copy/ During the winter holidays, many people get together with their families to enjoy festivities and share warmth and light during the darker winter months. In many cases, these are joyful reunions as parents and siblings who may not have seen each other in a long time get to catch up and share stories and experiences. […]

The post Home for the Holidays: Navigating Communication in Family Systems appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> Parenting Neurodivergent Teens: Making Space for Differences https://heatherhayes.com/parenting-neurodivergent-teens-making-space-for-differences/ Wed, 11 Dec 2024 08:00:20 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/parenting-neurodivergent-teens-making-space-for-differences-copy/ The term neurodivergent has seen increasing use in popular culture and on social media in recent years. This word is meant as a term that broadly encapsulates a range of mental health conditions where there are natural variations in the brain’s information-processing mechanisms. These include dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) […]

The post Parenting Neurodivergent Teens: Making Space for Differences appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> What Is Looksmaxxing? The Tiktok Trend With Harmful Potential for Teenage Boys https://heatherhayes.com/what-is-looksmaxxing-the-tiktok-trend-with-harmful-potential-for-teenage-boys/ Fri, 25 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/incongruence-in-family-systems-how-can-we-better-understand-teen-development-copy/ In a TikTok video which has over two hundred thousand views, a young man explains how looksmaxxing for eight months has changed his appearance completely. He goes on to explain in detail how he went about looksmaxxing and advises viewers that they can achieve these results, too, if they remain committed to the series of […]

The post What Is Looksmaxxing? The Tiktok Trend With Harmful Potential for Teenage Boys appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]> Understanding the “Troubled Teen Industry”: When Treatment Becomes Traumatic https://heatherhayes.com/understanding-the-troubled-teen-industry-when-treatment-becomes-traumatic/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 07:00:41 +0000 https://heatherhayes.com/the-chemical-side-effects-of-weed-growing-pesticides-copy/ When I think back on the trajectory of my career as a counselor and intervention specialist, I am extremely grateful for the progress I have witnessed and helped facilitate in these 40 years. The ethical practitioners I have had the good fortune to work with across many fields have facilitated change and saved the lives […]

The post Understanding the “Troubled Teen Industry”: When Treatment Becomes Traumatic appeared first on Heather Hayes & Associates.

]]>