Lighthouse conversations : being a beacon for teens

Lighthouse Conversations. Being a Beacon for Teens provides adults with the theory, practical examples, and tools to guide teens through challenges using constructive and positive conversation. Conversational tips are provided to convey empathy, support self-determination and autonomy, and increase a teen’s motivation for change. Whether you are a family member, teacher, counsellor, coach, or an ally to a teen in your life, this book will increase your confidence to support teenagers, improve your relationships by communicating effectively, and prevent problems from becoming harmful. This book contains:

• A new 3-step framework, called Explore - Offer – Explore, to communicate more successfully with a teen. Learn how listening to and exploring a teen’s perspective, respectfully delivering your message, so the teen internalizes it, and exploring how your message was perceived by the teen can transform your relationship.
• Real stories and sample conversations to apply Motivational Interviewing (MI) in your daily interactions with teens. Learn to develop collaborative partnerships, communicate acceptance, and focus on strengths.
• Over 25 easy-to-use practical exercises, three quizzes, and 20 reflection questions to explore, understand, and directly apply MI into your everyday conversations with teens, as well as self-care tips to be able to communicate effectively with a teen.

This book leverages Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help teens showing signs of serious trouble, including suicidal behaviour, criminal activity, substance abuse, alcoholism/drinking problems, or school attendance issues. MI is a proven counselling approach that uses an empathetic and collaborative conversational style to enhance self-motivation and commitment to change (developed by clinical psychologists William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a successful treatment method that focuses on how a person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviour influence one another and involves using alternative strategies to change unhelpful thinking and/or behavioural patterns. This book provides self-paced individual learning to support long-lasting positive change for teenagers and beyond (ages 12 to 21). As a resource for using MI to promote well-being for educators, families and social workers, this book provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to invest in a teen's future and positively change your community using responsive, affordable, and prevention-focused practices.

What Educational Leaders Say

Jennifer Ollis Blomqvist's Lighthouse Conversations. Being a Beacon for Teens provides parents, counselors, or other adults in the lives of teens with an excellent "how to guide" to improve how to have conversations that authentically connect, avoids conflicts or power struggles, and helps teens find their own impetus to decide and do what’s best for themselves. The practice activities provided throughout the book make the process of learning Motivational Interviewing (MI) in a self-affirming mindful way, easy.

- Richard Rutschman, EdD, Co-author of Motivational Interviewing in Schools.