PREFACE.

CHAPTER ONE: DISCONNECTION.

Support

Boundaries.

Acceptance.

CHAPTER TWO: ODD GIRL OUT.

Future relationships.

Monitoring.

Extracurricular Activities.

Music.

Dress Code.

Emotional State.

Current Problems.

Over-reacting.

CHAPTER THREE: BOYCRAZY.

 CHAPTER FOUR: SCHOOL DAZE.

Home Base.

CHAPTER FIVE: ELECTRIC WALLPAPER.

Shaping Personalities.

Sex and Television.

Print Ads.

Escaping.

Processing.

Quiet Messages.

CHAPTER SIX:THIN GAMES.

Hiding Behind the Weight

Mothers Beware.

CHAPTER SEVEN: PLAYING TELEPHONE.

Taboo Topics.

Location-Location.

Removal

CHAPTER EIGHT: STORE-BOUGHT BEAUTY.

Developing Bodies.

CHAPTER NINE: FUTURE BELIEFS.

 CHAPTER TEN: DIPLOMATIC DISCIPLINE.

Undermining Your Partner

Abdication of Authority.

Working in Unison.

Communication.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ONCE IS ENOUGH.

Over-Discipline.

Double-Jeopardy.

Public Humiliation.

Step Back.

Step Out

State Message.

Send Back.

Invoking Consequences.

Logical Consequences.

Consequence Vs. Threat

CHAPTER TWELVE: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

Social Outcast

The Art of Empathy.

Predictors.

Labeling Emotions.

Distinguishing Subtle Social Cues.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: TO TELL OR NOT TO TELL.

Guiding Our Young.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SEX, DRUGS, AND INFORMATION.

Sex.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: CLOSING POINTS.

APPENDICES.

APPENDIX A.

WOMEN.

Key.

MEN.

Key.

APPENDIX B: MEDIA MESSAGES.

APPENDIX C: MATURITY INVENTORY..

APPENDIX D: TELEPHONE CONTRACT.

Appendix E: FAMILY DICIPLINE POLICY..

MOTHER'S RESPONSE.

FATHER'S RESPONSE.

Appendix E: FAMILY DISCIPLINE POLICY.

FINAL DRAFT.

APPENDIX F: SEXUAL AGREEMENT CONTRACT.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

• register for the course (order on-line or call toll-free 888-777-3773),, after which you will receive the Post-Test. 
• the cost of the course is $55
• read A Therapist's Guide to Teenage Girls online
• Pass the post-test
• Upon passing the test, you will receive a certificate of completion
  
  • To purchase optional companion guide
    Life's Manual for Teenage Girls...for Parents Only:

Excerpt from A Therapist's Guide to Teenage Girls: 

"You never buy me anything!"  Anne crossed her arms over her chest, jutted out her chin, and all but dared her mother to say otherwise.

Her mother took the bait.  "Yes, I do.  I buy you clothes all the time."

"All the time?" Anne's eyebrow raised. "Did you buy me anything yesterday?" 

Realizing her mistake, Anne's mother lowered her voice. "You know what I mean.  I --"

"And when you do buy me anything - which is rare - you buy me cheap clothes!  Unlike when you buy yourself clothes."  Her voice raised a notch.  "Everyone makes fun of my clothes!"  She pulled the cuff of her sleeve to punctuate her point.

Her mother had bought the outfit less than a week ago.  Now, Anne hated it.  Inhaling deep, her mother said, "I will buy you the clothes you need.  If you want different clothes, you can save your allowance and buy them yourself."

Anne's jaw fell open.  "You are so mean!"  She spun around, a wave of platinum hair fanning behind her as she stormed off.

Sound familiar? 

Adolescence is a difficult time for both parents and adults.  It dangles at the doorstep of adulthood for teenagers, and usually is the time parents make appointments with therapists. 

Parents remain as confused as the adolescent with all the changes going on both physically and emotionally.

Hormones, growth spurts, menstrual cycles, and a budding sexuality riddle the path to adulthood.  Developmentally speaking, adolescents embark on the journey of self-discovery. Theorist Erik Erikson labels the adolescent stage "Identity versus Role Confusion."  According to Erikson, in order for adolescents to arrive at a "positive life path," they need to explore different "identity roles" in a healthy manner (Woods, Moore, Herlihy, p 60).  This is not unlike the statement, "I have to find myself." 

Both male and female adolescents need to know who they are, what they stand for, and have a sense of morals.  By doing so, it helps them gain a sense of self and hold solid boundaries.  

A number of healthy ways adolescents explore "identity roles" are

1) the way they dress
2) wear their hair
3) choice of music and
4) connections with various peer groups. 

Each helps them decide their role as an adult, and their life path.  

For girls, adolescence poses a unique set of challenges.  Sports, education, and career still reflect traditional gender lines, and girls are expected to stay on one side while boys stay on the other.  If girls fail to play by society's rules, she sufferers ridicule, mockery, and labels regarding her sexual orientation.

Because society's influence is so strong, parents may inadvertently undermine their daughter's exploration of her identity. 

Erin Pannell is a licensed professional counselor and registered play therapist whose practice is located in the southwest Austin area. Prior to opening her private practice, she worked as a seventh-grade English teacher, school counselor and free-lance writer before she discovered the rewards of helping children and families. She has written numerous parenting articles that have appeared in the United States, Canada, and Australia. She states, “Kids have the coolest job in the world. They get to be kids.”

Erin is a member of the Association for Play Therapy, Texas Counseling Association, and an Associate of Sandplay Therapists of America. She has presented at the Counseling Association of Southwest Texas State University, and numerous parenting organizations and educational workshops.

Erin makes her home in the outskirts of Austin with her husband, John, and her daughter, Megan. When she’s not presenting, writing, or counseling, she enjoys gardening with her husband, or having coffee with her daughter.

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