HeART to HeART Connections: The Transition into Adolescence Program

Are you a parent frustrated by your daughter’s behavior?

Do you struggle with how to respond to your girl’s low self esteem, anxiety, sadness, frustrations, shutting down or acting out behavior?

Do you often feel stuck in a negative pattern of power struggles, yelling, slammed doors and eye rolling “whatevers?”

Is it sometimes difficult to support your girl when she refuses your help and can’t find the words to describe how she really feels?

It’s overwhelming when your daughter is suffering and you don’t have the right tools to help her. And it’s frustrating when she doesn’t have the right tools to help herself. Your tired of reacting the same old way and watching the same negative patterns of nagging, blaming, hating, judging and criticizing unfold before your eyes. It’s isolating when you’re not sure who to share your feelings with and when you feel like no one else feels the way you do. You may feel embarrassed by your girl’s behavior in public or disappointed in yourself that after all of these years, your parenting and relationship with your girl has amounted to constant struggle.

I understand, so many of the clients I’ve worked with have felt the same way. They’ve felt exhausted by repeatedly using the few parenting tools they know only to find their girl pushing them away even more. They’ve felt overwhelmed by obstacles that keep them from building the relationship they dreamed of. They’ve felt stuck and find themselves looking at other parent/daughter relationships wishing they knew their secret. They feel guilty, not “good enough,” and then even more guilty for having feelings of guilt in the first place!!!

Now imagine if you had just a few more tools in your toolbox to begin to handle the unexpected curve balls your daughter has been throwing you.

Imagine how different things would be if you:

• Were given tools that could help you view your girl’s “mistakes” or “poor decision making” as an opportunity for great growth that you knew she would carry with her forever.

• Remained calm after her blunders, knowing that when you are calm you are able to think rationally and most likely will not feel sorry for anything you say next.

• Let your girl know how much you value and respect her for the way she worked it out with he brother/sister/friend. Imagine you learned to listen not only with your ears but your heart too, giving her the space to be heard and validated for her own thoughts and opinions.

• Were okay with not needing to know the answer to everything and instead serving as a partner with your girl as you problem solved through the next challenge together.

• Spent special time where it was just the two of you with no interruptions (no yelling, or facebook), and you were able to connect, communicate, and enjoy each other’s company.

• Guided her in becoming more responsible, so she can easily become more independent and grow into a high functioning, compassionate and responsible adult.

Imagine how her self confidence would grow and how much easier transition into college and beyond would be!?!

Hi, my name is Elissa and I’m a nationally board certified, registered art therapist that specializes in working with girls ages 7-18 who are suffering from low self esteem, anxiety, sadness, frustrations, shutting down and acting out behavior.

As a girl growing up in our culture, I too experienced low self esteem, anxiety, sadness feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, shutting down behavior and all the other typical growing pains…I know how difficult growing up for our girls can be.

I ALSO know how important ONE safe, supportive, loving, connected relationship with a parent or caregiver can be to help our girls transition through these years with ease and success. It just takes one secure, consistent connection to make all the difference in the world.

After I spent much time going to a talk therapist trying to figure out why I was feeling what I was feeling, I found on my own that the creative process provided a safe and constant source of creativity, freedom, purpose, endless possibilities and acceptance that nothing else was capable of producing. This new approach forced me to “get out of my head” and back into my playful heart where I knew my strength and capabilities lived. Decades later, I use the art as tool to help me better connect to my clients, so they too can find the words and resources that are hidden in their heart to help them move forward.

After almost 10 years, and having the privilege of working with hundreds of families, I noticed that the most rapid progress made towards change involves focusing on our girl’s strengths, not their deficits.

I created the Transition into Adolescence Program to help girls use their inherent creative problem solving abilities to speak about their problems rather than shut down, use their words rather than act out, learn how to respond to and overcome fears and anxiety, feel more confident connected and happy again and ultimately enhance their relationship with you, family members, friends and their community.

This comprehensive 2-phase Transition into Adolescence Program is specifically designed to help girls and parents manage behaviors and emotions with art therapy, creative problem solving strategies, and parent support tools.

The Transition into Adolescence Program Includes:

HeART to HeART Foundation: (3 Months)

Because life is a creative process we integrate art, creative problem solving skills, writing, story telling, photography and more to help support and engage your daughter in a playful and meaningful way.

During the Initial Phase of the Transition into Adolescence Program we embark upon this journey together, as a team, and as a result:

• There are no mistakes in art, just do-overs, re-dos, cover-ups and paint-overs. Let’s face it, learning new skills takes ALOT of practice and repetition. Whether it be learning to paint a canvas or learning how to express our anger/sadness without a meltdown…it can get frustrating. Your daughter will be given time and space to practice and work towards making positive changes that improve her communication and relationships with others, learning each step of the way what she can do better next time….and then practice and repeat it again.
• Life gets messy and so does art. Your daughter will increase flexibility, and learn how to cope with things when they don’t go her way.
• It takes a lot of strength and courage to share our inner thoughts, feelings and emotions to someone else. The actual artwork serves as a catalyst to do this when we share and discuss its meaning throughout each session. Your daughter will translate this skill and use it when learning how to become more confident and responsible, especially in difficult situations such as bullying and when pressured by her peers to do something outside of her comfort zone.
• The creative process helps put our active critical mind to rest and activates and honors our “I am good enough and I can solve this” thinking. Your daughter will learn how to voice what’s important to her, honor herself and her values, and speak up for what she believes in, even when it’s not popular.
• Developing creativity requires imagination and ability to change ideas into a reality. It also requires a resourcefulness and improvisation. Developing these skills helps a girl be more resilient and bounce back quicker from a set-back or challenge. Your daughter will develop skills to manage difficult emotions and frustration, and create new positive ways to manage feelings and behaviors for life-long success.

As a Parent You Will:

• Discover a new found commitment and energy for yourself, your daughter and your relationship that will help you begin to uncover what needs to take place in order for shifts in your relationship to occur.
• Begin to recognize negative patterns or limiting beliefs you have with yourself and your daughter that might be keeping you stuck in the same old power struggles, yelling, blaming, criticizing and judging game.
• Carve out time and space to envision your dream relationship with your daughter and practice and implement proven tools, tips and strategies to help you get there.
• Implement a new found respect for yourself and your girl, listen with your heart and your ears, focus on meeting her where she is at so she feels respected, validated and understood.
• Appreciate her differences and uniqueness, support but not rescue and learn how to make clear requests, give clear choices and create agreements that set you both up for success.
• Recognize what works and what doesn’t work with your girl. Practice doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
• Commit to a lifetime of learning, share your progress together and celebrate all the successes along the way!

The Transition into Adolescence Program Includes:

HeArt to HeART Maintenance: (3 Months)

Congratulations, you and your daughter have learned a lot of new tools! By this time you have completed the HeART to HeART Foundation Phase and feel your relationship with your girl is more connected and meaningful than before. But life gets busy and when stress creeps in it’s easy to fall back into your old ways. We want to make sure when you hit those road bumps, you feel prepared to face them with confidence.

During the HeART to HeART Maintenance Phase of the Transition into Adolescence Program we will work together to:

• Maintain continued communication and support
• Keep you focused on positive outcomes and changes as you move forward boldly in the process of reclaiming your parenting power.
• Face old challenges with a fresh, new perspective

The Transition into Adolescence Program Includes:

HeART to HeART Foundation: (3 Months)

• Four – 50 minutes sessions per month using art therapy, creative problem solving, and support to help your girl change the patterns that keep her from positively managing her behaviors and coping with problems when they arise

• Two – 30 minute parent/guardian support calls per month with specific strategies to help support your girl make long lasting changes and for you to reclaim your parenting powers

• Contact with school or other professionals to facilitate positive changes (if applicable)

• Weekly email check-in (initiated by the parent), in addition to parent support call

• 15 minutes of talk time with parent and child in the beginning of every session

• My “must read” newsletter jam packed with tools, tips and strategies delivered straight to your inbox every other week.

So that’s:

12 hours of direct client and parent support.

3 hours of phone check-in calls for parent support.

3 months of contact with school/other professionals (if applicable).

3 months of client and family support and much more

HeART to HeART Maintenance: (3 Months)

• Two – 50 minutes sessions per month using art therapy, creative problem solving, and support to help your girl change the patterns that keep her from positively managing her behaviors and coping with problems when they arise

• One – 30 minute parent/guardian support call per month with specific strategies to help support your girl make long lasting changes and for you to reclaim your parenting powers

• Contact with school or other professionals to facilitate positive changes (if applicable)

• Email check-in (initiated by the parent), in addition to parent support call

• 15 minutes of talk time with parent and child in the beginning of every session

• Continue to receive my “must read” newsletter jam packed with tools, tips and strategies delivered straight to your inbox every other week.

So that’s:

6 hours of direct client and parent support.

1.5 hours of phone check-in calls for parent support.

3 months of contact with school/other professionals (if applicable).

3 months of client and family support and much more

Wait…there’s more!

You’ll also receive:

• Two – 15 minute bonus parent calls if you find yourself in a bind and need some extra support

• One of my favorite child/teen books, The Parent as Coach Approach, or Kids, Parents and Power Struggles

• If we’re skyping, then some yummy art materials will be shipped right to your doorstep!

Do you live outside of the area and wish you had these services available to you and your daughter? I can still help and we can still work together. As a skype client you will receive everything that has just been mentioned. Of course, instead of in-person sessions we will have our HeART to HeART Connections over skype instead. So you get to stay in the comfort of your own home, without the hassle of travel, and you still get all these juicy benefits. To skype:

• Your girl must be 12 years or older

• An in-depth phone/skype consultation with parents and child will be held to make sure this program is the right fit for you.

• Different time zone? No problem. We’ve recently become bicoastal!

Need help on where to start? Schedule a Complimentary
Introduction HeART to HeART Consultation Here