Middle and High School

Acknowledge and validate your teen’s experiences. Empathize with your teen about their loss of anticipated milestones such as prom or having a graduation ceremony. Teens are also grieving the experiences of everyday social connections with friends that are not only meaningful to them, but also a crucial part of their developmental process.

Listen to your teen without trying to fix or take away their uncomfortable feelings as hard as it may be.

Help your teen put names to their feelings. As Dan Siegel has famously said, “Name it to tame it.” When we name our feelings we are better able to integrate them.