Making Sense of Adolescence:
Seven Rites of Passage
Sessions: 10
Lecture: 9h 42m
Certificate: 20+ hrs
250 CAD
The task of turning children into adults has never been more daunting. An adolescent is neither child nor adult - and therein lies much of the difficulty, turbulence, confusion, and challenge. They need us, yet need to not need us. We are their best bet, yet their instincts are to resist us. This course is organized around seven rites of passage where adolescents often need our help.
As is the case with all our courses, this course features lectures by Dr. Neufeld, carefully curated support for enriched study, study aides, the opportunity to ask questions of trained faculty or course facilitators, a year's access to the campus to enable study at one's own pace, and a certificate of attendance upon completion. For more information, consult the 'about our courses' page.
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 of adults is to back off prematurely. We are still our adolescents' best bet for meeting their attachment needs as well as for help in becoming 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 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: parents, grandparents, teachers, counsellors, youth workers, family workers, therapists, social workers, 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 adults being replaced by peers
- 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.
- Session 1 - Crossing the bridge: adolescence in perspective
- Session 2 - Two paths diverge: conformity versus individuality
- Session 3 - Walking through aloneness and sadness: the necessary road to individuation
- Session 4 - Taking a wrong turn: when peers replace adults
- Session 5 - The counterwill storm: how to survive teen resistance
- Session 6 - Why adolescents need to feel more than ever
- Session 7 - Becoming tempered: the key to adolescent balance and stability
- Session 8 - Why adolescents need to play more than ever
- Session 9 - Reclaiming our youth: how to hold, or win back, their hearts
- Session 10 - Becoming a sexual being: the pursuit of proximity in another dimension
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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Canada