With mental health topics coming out into more daily practices and conversations, families are finding out so much more about the struggles teenagers go through on a regular basis. It’s important not only to acknowledge their issues but to support them. However, the need to know what is going on can sometimes lead to pushing a conversation they’re not ready to have.

Our guest today shares the importance of balancing privacy and communication in a household. Paul Sunseri, Psy.D., joins Dina to talk about some strategies parents can have in their toolbelt. Paul is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and owner of New Horizons Child and Family Institute. Within this institute, he has created a form of therapy that focuses on a familial approach to working through a child's mental health, Intensive Family-Focused Therapy (IFFT). Alongside his direct work with families, Paul is also the author of "Family-Focused Treatment for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A New Paradigm." In this book, his primary focus looks into the world as it is today and how to help teens navigate it, including topics such as social media, screen time, social isolation, and the family disconnect.

Paul and Dina delve into crucial aspects of mental health within families, ranging from recognizing early signs of mental health issues in children and adolescents, to how a healthy family dynamic can impact the mental well-being of children and adolescents. How improved family communication contributes to creating a supportive environment, especially for young individuals grappling with mental health issues is also underscored in this episode.

Visit Paul’s work at https://www.myiift.org/ and watch his latest TED talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDQ5tgd1_HY. Connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-a-sunseri-psy-d-54033b7.

Produced by the Family Science Labs, a division of LMSL, the Life Management Science Labs.

Explore LMSL at https://lifemanagementsciencelabs.com/ and visit http://fa.lmsl.net/ for additional information about Family Science Labs.

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