Category Archives: Parenting Teens

What is Wrong with You!?!

What is Wrong with You!?!

by Kevin Hales, LPC

“What’s wrong with you?”

Has anyone ever said this to you? Have you ever said this to anyone you know?

We typically make this statement when something happens that goes beyond our current logical understanding and comprehension about what we deem as “normal and acceptable.” Someone said or did something that we deem stupid, irrational, illogical or just plain “wrong.”

As a society and people, we need to understand some things that surround this statement and why it is ultimately unhelpful at best and psychologically harmful at worst. Continue reading

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About Kevin Hales

Kevin Hales, MA, LPC offers marriage counseling as well as individual counseling for adults and teens at Colorado Counseling Center. Kevin’s clients find that he wholeheartedly devotes himself to helping them heal and move forward in life. To learn more about Kevin's counseling specialties, please visit coloradocounselingcenter.com/kevin-hales/

Plug Back into Life

Plug Back into Life

 

Lost in Technology

Today, it’s common to see people lost in their smartphones, heads dropped, engaged in social media, emails, or games, ignoring everything and everyone around them.  This phenomenon is the new normal.

That’s why my recent experience at Impact-Sack Lunches for the Homeless stood out.  The organization utilizes volunteers to prepare and hand out sack lunches to Denver’s homeless population. As I stood there, slicing bagels to be passed down the assembly line, I noticed a new phenomenon. It was me, my friends, and strangers, families, kids…all joining and working together on the common goal of helping someone in need. The entire day, I did not see one person on their phone.  Continue reading

Reaching Out to an Angry Teen

Reaching Out to Your Angry Teenagerby Lisa Rosen

Stomp…stomp…stomp.  Slam!

Has your teenager ever come home from school this way? Maybe stopping on the way to her room to yell at you or comment under her breath.  She is angry and irritated.

You have no idea why. You have no idea what to do about it.

She isn’t talking. But she is giving you, with nonverbal gestures you can’t miss, a signal that something has had a strong impact on her life. It may not feel like it, but this is an opportunity to understand, support, help, and guide her.

 What’s Really Going On with Your Teen

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Getting Through to Your Teenager

“The Look” from Your Teenager

Getting Through to Your Teenager Do you ever get “the look” from your teenager? You know the one I am talking about—the teen angst and disgust mixed with rolling of the eyes. You have something vitally important to say! They need to know this for their future! But you can’t get out of the starting gate. No one is listening. The information that you hold is valuable. Your teen would no doubt benefit from hearing what you have to say. The one barrier is…  Continue reading