Parent and Carer Webinars
The topics have been chosen to reflect core developmental processes in adolescence and common difficulties parents can struggle with. The content is psychoeducational, strategy-based and solution focused. The webinars will cover the following topics:
The webinars will cover the following topics:
• How to support your young person with low mood
• Early emerging School Based Avoidance: practical tips and strategies to support your child
• Anxiety in adolescence: how can parents and carers help?
• Adolescent self–harm: how to make sense of it and when to seek support Building resilience, staying connected and nurturing your relationship with your teen
• Understanding the impact of bullying on a young person’s mental health: practical strategies to help you support your young person to get through their experience and feel okay again
• Managing teen behaviour that challenges: tips and tricks
• Weathering the storms of strong teen emotions: do’s, don’ts and when to consider talking to someone
• Understanding the adolescent brain: strategies to help you understand and support young people’s mental health and wellbeing Further details on each webinar are below. To register please click on the relevant Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
How to support your young person with low mood
Tuesday 6 February 12:00-13:00
Low mood does not just affect adults. Young people can experience low mood too. Common signs of low mood often include sadness that does not go away, feeling irritable all of the time, not being interested in things that used to be enjoyed, feeling tired and exhausted a lot of the time. Things that might increase low mood include family difficulties, bullying, bereavement, parental separation, friendship issues.
Our webinar will offer some insight into spotting the signs and symptoms of low mood, understand why young people are vulnerable to experiencing this and offer evidencebased strategies to support a young person.
Click here to register.
Early emerging School Based Avoidance: practical tips and strategies to support your child
Thursday 8 February 17:00-18:00
Feelings of worry or anxiety are something that everyone will experience from time to time. It is not uncommon for young people to worry about school. For some young people, however, that worry can become so great that they may have difficulties in attending school. If your child has high levels of anxiety and is finding it difficult to attend school, they may be experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). Emotionally-based school avoidance is a term referring to reduced or nonattendance at school by a child or young person. Rather than the term ‘school refusal’, the term EBSA recognises that this avoidance has its root in emotional, mental health or wellbeing issues. This webinar focuses on young people who have early emerging presentations of EBSA. The parent/carer webinar will offer advice on how to support your child, understand the anxiety cycle of avoidance and suggest practical tips and strategies to help your child overcome their difficulties.
Click here to register.
Anxiety in adolescence: how can parents and carers help?
Tuesday 5 March 12:00-13:00
It is normal to sometimes feel anxious, however for some adolescents, anxiety can become a significant problem that stops them from doing things, e.g., talking to new people, going out with friends, or doing their best in exams. The focus of this webinar will be on what parents/carers can do to help their teens who are experiencing anxiety. It will cover when anxiety is normal vs. problematic, common anxieties during adolescence (exam stress, social anxiety and worries about identity and development), the relationship between parent-child anxiety, and how and when to access support for you and your child. We will also discuss a couple of ‘real world’ examples of common adolescent anxieties and different strategies that may be helpful in those situations.
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Adolescent self–harm: how to make sense of it and when to seek support
Wednesday 13 March 17:00-18:00
Adolescence brings about many challenges, including insecurity, self-consciousness, anxiety about one’s own body, and peer pressure. It is not uncommon for teenagers to engage in some self-harmful behaviour for a period of time, for instance cutting, hair pulling or scratching. Understandably, these behaviours can be very concerning, distressing, and confusing for parents. This webinar will provide an overview of the risk factors and methods of self-harm. It will explore the various reasons why young people may self-harm and offer ideas on how parents can talk to and support their teens. Lastly, it will discuss instances of self-harmful behaviour that may require professional support. Places on this webinar won’t be limited and there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end.
Click here to register.
Building resilience, staying connected and nurturing your relationship with your teen
Tuesday 19 March 12:00-13:00
Adolescence is a time of insecurity, strong feelings and growing autonomy which naturally affects the parent-child relationship and requires parents to find new ways of connecting with their teenagers. Parents may feel left out and worried, and they may experience a sense of loss over the relationship they used to have with their children when they were younger. This webinar offers ideas on how to maintain and build trust with teenagers, how to stay connected and how to nurture the relationship with their teen. Places on this webinar won’t be limited and there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end.
Click here to register.
Understanding the impact of bullying on a young person’s mental health: practical strategies to help you support your young person to get through their experience and feel OK again
Thursday 21 March 12:00-13:00
While lots of young people experience bullying, it is an incredibly difficult thing to go through and can have a huge effect on your child’s mental health and wellbeing. As a parent/carer, it can also feel very challenging and worrying. This webinar will outline the different ways in which young people are bullied and discuss how this might impact them day to day. There will also be useful practical strategies to help you support your young person to get through their experience and feel ok again.
Click here to register.
Managing teen behaviour that challenges: tips and tricks
Wednesday 17 April 12:00-13:00
Most adolescents will at some stage in their development engage in behaviour that parents find challenging and worrying, for instance, substance misuse, being overly argumentative and rejecting, oppositional behaviour and excessive social media use. It can become difficult for parents to find ways of discussing their concerns with their teens who may increasingly not want to hear any advice their parents have to offer. This webinar will provide an overview of adolescent development and the brain, including common challenging behaviours during adolescence. It will discuss different parenting styles and offer tips for parents on how to approach and discuss challenging behaviour with teens, and how to set boundaries. Places on this webinar won’t be limited and there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end.
Click here to register.
Weathering the storms of strong teen emotions: do’s, don’ts and when to consider talking to someone
Tuesday 23 April 12:00-13:00
Adolescence inherently consists of many storms that parents, families, and young people have to weather, many of which are driven by an intensity of emotions that is unique to this developmental stage. Teenagers grapple with their own identity, their social relationships, and their need for autonomy, and in turn parents face the challenge of being left out, managing their own reactions to strong teen emotions, and finding different ways of connecting with their teens. This webinar will provide an overview of the changes adolescents go through, why teenagers experience such strong emotional fluctuations and how these are linked to processes in the brain. It will offer ideas on how to support teenager with their strong feelings and what to best avoid. Lastly, the webinar will discuss the difference between normal emotional difficulties in adolescence and issues that may need additional support. Places on this webinar won’t be limited and there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end.
Click here to register.
Understanding the adolescent brain: strategies to help you understand and support young people’s mental health and wellbeing
Thursday 25 April 17:00-18.00
Scientists have discovered that our brains physically change in response to our experiences throughout our lives. The teenage years are a time of significant brain change when young people are learning to adapt to the world around them. This webinar will provide an insight into the stages of brain development through early childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. We will consider how changes in the brain affect the emotions and behaviour of your young person whist providing evidence-based strategies to help you understand and support their mental wellbeing.
Click here to register