Adolescence Is Not Mental Illness

Developmental Psychologist and advisor to Love Your Nature, Diana Divecha PhD writes about the current state of affairs for American teens and why conscious mentoring is essential to their wellness. She discusses the possibility is that our society has forgotten about the important developmental task of adolescence, and how finding a healthy identity is perhaps the key task of this life stage. She writes...

"Teens benefit from, and want, relationships in which their understanding of the world and their place in it can be co-constructed in a healthy way. A mentoring relationship or facilitated group can help teens process their growing awareness with like-minded people while balancing it with a focus on healthy development. In such a setting, the skills for mastery and sense of control can gradually emerge at a developmentally appropriate pace that teens can manage.

In an APA study of stress, three-quarters of the teens surveyed said they wanted more emotional support... The more families can name and normalize emotions and emotional competence, the more successfully teens develop. Good relationships are essential to mental health and well-being.

Building emotional intelligence skills is always important, too. Every teen will benefit from a) the ability to be aware of their feelings and b) having strategies for regulation. As one woman on the Love Your Nature Teen Wisdom Panel said about meditation, “It’s real. You should try it.” (Read full article here...)

Thank you Diana for your devotion to understanding and spreading awareness around adolescence as "a period of transformation, not mental illness." We love you!

More from Diana and her valuable work at developmentalscience.com