Shifting Family Dynamics
“Balancing independence & dependency”
Identity Exploration
“Discover yourself”
Social Belonging & Engagements
“Social Roles & Interactions”
Academic & Career
“Future planing & Short/Long Term Goals”
SHIFTING FAMILY DYNAMICS
At a certain age, a young adult becomes more assertive and gains a sense of independence. This independence is reflected as a time where they become more distant with family and start spending less time with parents and siblings. This distance breeds an opportunity for more external influences to take hold in their lives, both positive and negative. These new influences often create a sense of cognitive dissonance where conflicting viewpoints arise and emotions are confused. There is a sense of mental discomfort which can lead to alterations in one’s attitudes, beliefs or behaviors in attempts to alleviate the discomfort and restore balance. My role is to bring these conflicts to light and allow the individual to understand the battles they are going through whether direct or indirect in order to prepare them with the tools to handle such life challenges. My role is to bridge the gap with parents through family sessions not as a judge but as an impartial observer who can identify the challenges in relationships.
IDENTITY EXPLORATION
Adolescence is a critical time in one’s life and is a time when identity exploration is at its peak in a youth’s life; this is often identified as being a critical moment in their development. The emphasis of my work is to help them understand and take control of their self-esteem, self-understanding, and self-worth. We delve into their thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes before engaging in a journey to explore who they are. By exploring one’s identity during this important phase in life, the impact and consequences of decisions made at this stage sets them up for the continuous journey of their lives. By reflecting on themselves with the right tools and perspective youth who engage in deep identity exploration discover who they are and what they want to be.
ACADEMIC & CAREER
Preparing for life’s choices as a young adult can seem like a daunting task, especially when coupled with varying expectations from everyone in their lives, from teachers, peers, and parents. Differing expectations and performance can be stressful and with changing demands from academic settings it can be even more stressful. Career decisions and the right educational path early on can impact an individual’s life for years down the line, therefore an introspective understanding of one’s own strengths and weaknesses can enable them to make the best possible decisions going forward. My role is to enable them with the tools and processes to comprehend their career decisions and university choices through a new level of understanding.
SOCIAL BELONGING & ENGAGEMENTS
When exposed to new friends and social circles at middle and secondary school as well as college life there is a need to build confidence and hone social skills. From peer influences and pressures ranging from ideas of popularity and rejection, as well as new digitally influenced anxieties such as FOMO “Fear of Missing Out”. This diaspora of social groups leads to a feeling of confusion and stress among youth. My goal when coaching youth and teenagers through this phase of their life is to allow them to understand these various social perspectives, influences, and relationships as well as to understand their role in the contextual social settings. By bringing awareness to their overall social wellbeing, designing actions and developing accountability, the young adults I work with will be ready to handle their social relationships in a more mature and responsible manner.