JOIN US ONLINE for a special scheduled class offering*
Making Sense of Adolescence:
Seven Rites of Passage
Course Start Date: January 28, 2026
Wednesdays 1:00PM - 2:00PM PT
Runs for 10 weeks
Crossing the bridge from childhood to adulthood has never been so daunting. The time of adolescence is longer than ever and yet society today offers little support in understanding or facilitating this transition. This course is designed to be used by parents, grandparents, teachers, administrators, professionals – anyone who desires to make sense of adolescence. Parents of pre- teens will find this course invaluable as preparation for what lies ahead.
* although students can take this course anytime on their own, this is a special opportunity to benefit from a guided learning experience with Neufeld Institute Faculty. Former and current registrants can enrol in this class for an addtional $50 CAD only.
Scheduled Class Details:
📌 Course Start Date: January 28, 2026
⌛ Duration: 10 weeks
🗓️ Tuesdays 1:00PM - 2:00PM PT
🏷️ Tuition: $300 CAD
We invite your participation in this Scheduled Class offering of 'Making Sense of Adolescence: Seven Rites of Passage', where you will gain further insight from Neufeld Institute Faculty members Lisa Weiner and Robin Brooks-Sherriff. They will offer a rich tapestry of unique perspectives, all within the attachment-based developmental approach.
Scheduled Classes combine Dr. Neufeld’s video lectures and supplementary course material with live faculty-facilitated support sessions. These interactive weekly classes are designed to deepen your understanding of Dr. Neufeld's teachings. It is a unique opportunity to join our experienced faculty and other students online to ask questions, discuss key insights, and explore practical applications.
All of the classes are recorded. If you miss a class, you can keep pace with the group by viewing the recordings at your own convenience during the week.
Please note: you will receive access to the course one week before the start date. There will be some material to review before the first class.
Meet our experienced faculty member, who will support you in this course
Nurse & Parent Consultant
Portland, Oregon
Lisa Weiner is a mother of two sons, a nurse practitioner, parent consultant and an inspiring teacher of the Neufeld paradigm. She loves walking alongside parents, teachers and helping professionals while they make sense of the children in their care through classes and her private parent consulting practice. She has a special passion for helping parents make sense of adolescents, alpha challenges and counterwill. Since Lisa first found the Neufeld Institute she has immersed herself in Dr. Neufeld`s attachment-based developmental paradigm and has found that it has deeply enriched her parenting, her understanding of herself and other adults, and her appreciation of the wonders of human development.
Community Health Nurse
Calgary, Canada
Robin has worked as a registered nurse in various capacities with families and clients for over 30 years. She offers a variety of courses and is available for speaking engagements. Her favourite material to teach and support is the adolescence material - Making Sense of Adolescence and Adolescence & Sexuality. This is a good match to her current work as a Sexual Health Nurse. Robin serves on our admin team and holds various staff responsibilities including managing Dr. Neufeld’s events. She is a mother, wife, daughter, sister and many other things in a complicated loving family.
COURSE SUMMARY
Adolescence literally means "growing into maturity." Unfortunately, growing up is not a given; not all adolescents embrace their developmental destiny. Understanding the help they need is essential to finding one's way with them. The most common mistake adults make is to back off prematurely. We are still our adolescents' best bet for meeting their attachment needs and helping them become their own persons. This course is organized around seven rites of passage that involve temptations for them and challenges for the adults involved.
The objective of this course is to make sense of adolescents from inside out. Every adolescent is an individual to be sure, but there are some common dynamics that affect all adolescents. Understanding what these dynamics are can provide the keys for knowing how to help them negotiate the passage into adulthood as well as deal with any problems that may arise. The challenge is not to treat them as if they were children nor to retreat from them as if they were adults. Learning to "dance with an adolescent" commands the very best in us.
This course is the recommended prerequisite for the four-session course on Adolescence and Sexuality.
SUITABILITY/APPLICABILITY
This material is relevant to anyone who is involved, or will be involved, with teenagers, including parents, grandparents, teachers, counsellors, youth workers, family workers, therapists, social workers, and psychologists. This course can be used for professional development for teachers, continuing education for helping professionals, and staff training for youth programs. This course is also appropriate for parents of preteens to prepare them for the transition.
SAMPLE TOPICS
- the psychological changes at puberty that impact adolescents and those that parent and work with them
- how to deal with the premature loss of power and influence with an adolescent
- how to recognize when rebellion is healthy or a result of peers replacing adults
- the psychological temptations faced by adolescents on their journey to maturity
- how parents and teachers can avoid premature or forced retirement
- how to preserve or restore one’s rightful place in an adolescent’s life
- how to differentiate between relationship problems and behaviour problems in the adolescent
- how to hold on without holding them back
Course Outline
The course is divided into ten sessions, each containing approximately one hour of instructional video by Dr. Neufeld.
- The Separation Complex
Session 1: The Separation Complex Introduced
Session 2: Facing Separation
Session 3: Problems Rooted in Separation — Triggered Pursuit - Problems Rooted in Alarm
Session 4: Making Sense of Alarm
Session 5: Making Sense of Alarm Problems
Session 6: Addressing Alarm Problems - Problems Rooted in Frustration
Session 7: Making Sense of Frustration
Session 8: Addressing Aggression Problems - Addressing Separation
Session 9: The PANACEA: Reducing Separation - Problems Rooted in the Attachment Defences
Session 10: Defensive Re-Attachment
Session 11: Defensive Dominance
Session 12: Defensive Detachment - Problems with Multiple Roots in the Separation Complex
Session 13: Attention Problems
Session 14: Counterwill Problems - Session 15: Conclusion
Inquiries
If you have questions or require additional information that you cannot find on our website or FAQ page, you may contact our office on our Inquiries page.
Charity & Non-Profit Status
The Neufeld Institute is a registered Canadian charitable organization under the name Neufeld Institute Foundation and is also registered as a NPO in British Columbia. If you would like to make a contribution to us, please go to our donation page.
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