You may recall that I spoke a few weeks ago in an email about not wanting to work with crisis anymore. I was so concerned about what is happening for our young people, our future generation that I needed to look at a different way of working. And that’s how ‘It Starts With You’ was born, supporting parents to understand the journey they are on parenting their teens and what they can really do which makes a difference.
I am loving getting to know and support the parents who have committed to going on this journey to understand more about themselves and about their children, and how both can be instrumental in supporting the future of their teenagers emotional and mental well-being.
In the meantime I knew there was more I could do. I’ve been working on something in the background that finally came to fruition two weekends ago. It feels like the missing pieces of the puzzle that I have been wanting to expand on for such a long time. This is a real opportunity to look at every aspect of what is impacting all of you right now as you prepare for or are navigating the teenage years.
The pandemic is still having a massive influence over how our young people resolve what they went through during that time, no school, no connections and no opportunities to do the activities they once enjoyed. Cortisol, our stress hormone was massively heightened for them during this time spent ‘not knowing’, and that fight or flight feeling hasn’t left. The result is seeing a reduction in the ability to cope with stress, manage day-to-day social situations and handle challenges in their life. They’ve not had the foundations that they desperately need during the teenage years to enable them to thrive now. Those were taken away from them, and you are now seeing, and trying desperately to deal with, the impact of all of this without really knowing what to do.
So, this is a new collaboration with another professional, Chloe Stickings – a hormone health expert. I don’t collaborate with people very often, but this person I hold in such high regard. She has taught me so much about the physical and emotional implications of hormonal imbalance in teens and the impact it can have on their mental health. Whilst my absolute expertise is being able to see a young person’s challenges from a teenage brain perspective, and help the parent understand this and how to build connections and approach their day to day interactions with their young people differently, Chloe’s is being able to see where they are at from a hormonal one. To truly understand the physical and emotional root of what’s going on can be transformational. It can explain behaviours, reactions and ability to engage and focus. This is not only relevant for your teenager, but also for you as a parent who we will be working with, and supporting too.
I give you – ‘Breaking the Cycle – from Surviving to Thriving’.
This 4 month program will give you the opportunity to receive my unique insight into your teenager, seeing beyond the symptoms and looking at what is really going on for them, and you from an emotional perspective, helping you navigate the tough times and understand why they’re happening and in some cases prevent them from happening at all. Together, Chloe and I will also support both of you to explore what you need to help you get through these years, physically, mentally and emotionally. You might be a menopausal woman who is desperate to understand her own health needs and most definitely that will be impacting on how you can cope and manage with a teenager who is equally going through many hormonal challenges themselves.
So, ‘Breaking the Cycle – from surviving to thriving’ is well underway to be developed, and put out there. If you’d like more information about it then please email me clare@clarecogan.com and I’ll add your name to our waitlist. There’s no commitment in doing so, just an acknowledgement that you would love to understand more about what Chloe and I are bringing to the world of teenage mental health to truly transform the lives of teenagers and how they interact with you, their environment, and the world around them.