Parenting Post-Wilderness: Parenting a Struggling Teen Before, During and After Treatment
Your guide to parenting a struggling teen or young-adult, whether they’re home, transitioning home, or presently in treatment.
Parents, say goodbye to exhausting confusion, overwhelm, panic and the unhelpful patterns that keep you and your family stuck. Learn how to develop healthy responses and set healthy boundaries with your teen instead of acting out of fear and anxiety.
Experience the relationship-changing power of focusing on your own behavior instead of futile attempts to control your teen.
Your guides to Parenting Post-wilderness are Beth Hillman, a life coach for parents of struggling teens and mom to a post-wilderness teen, and part-time co-host Seth Gottlieb, a wilderness therapy guide turned teen and young-adult recovery coach. Their unique combination of experience and training yields candid conversations chock full of practical, actionable tips and tools to smooth the challenges both parents and teens experience surrounding treatment.
Every week, you can expect conversations around:
- Parenting a struggling teen or young-adult;
- Setting healthy boundaries with your teen;
- Treatment options for your struggling teen or young adult;
- Bringing your kid home from treatment;
- Parenting skills to support your struggling child;
- Teen substance abuse, drug addiction, gaming addiction, suicidal ideation, or other teen mental health concerns;
- How to end power struggles and instead foster healthy communication with your teen or young-adult;
- And much more.
Listen in to discover how parents like you have learned to influence equanimity in the home and rebuild connections with the teens they love.
Connect with Beth on Instagram (@bethhillmancoaching) or find more information about working with Beth at www.bethhillmancoaching.com.
Parenting Post-Wilderness: Parenting a Struggling Teen Before, During and After Treatment
141. What Are Your Expecting? - Navigating Expectations Before, During, and After Treatment
It’s not your child’s job to live up to your expectations. That might sound harsh, but it’s one of the most important truths I’ve had to learn as a parent, especially during the transition home after treatment.
If you’re anything like me, you might be thinking: ‘But I don’t even have that many expectations!’ I used to think that too… I wasn’t asking for straight A’s or a high-powered career path. But the truth is, I had all sorts of hidden expectations: to be respected, to be liked, to have my child appreciate my cooking, my values, and… for them not to use drugs. And when those expectations weren’t met, it hurt.
In this episode, Seth and I unpack how easily our unconscious expectations can shape the energy of our home and our family dynamics. This is especially true when your kid is coming home from treatment and the goal is to build a new, different relationship with them.
Even the expectations handed to us from treatment programs can give a false sense of security, making it feel like everything will go perfectly if the plan is followed. But real life doesn’t work like that.
We explore what our hidden expectations look like, the emotional effect they can have on your teen or young adult, and how you can trade them for something far more meaningful: connection, curiosity, and a new kind of relationship with your teen or young adult.
In this episode on navigating expectations, we cover:
- Why it's so hard to see your own expectations and how they show up when your kid doesn't meet them;
- The emotional impact expectations can have on your child’s sense of acceptance;
- Why bringing your kid home from treatment requires more flexibility and less pressure;
- The difference between boundaries and expectations, and why that distinction matters;
- What parents can do to foster trust and connection during the transition home from treatment;
- How letting go of control can create space for a more honest relationship with your child and healthier family dynamics;
- And more!
Looking for support?
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.
🗺️Need help setting healthy boundaries with your teen AND following through? My free guide will help you do so by creating your own Parent Home Plan!
Have a question or need support? You can email me at beth@bethhillmancoaching.com
You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
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And remember parents, the change begins with us.
🌱 LIVE Online Workshop 'Resolve The Cycle of Conflict' 🌱
May 2nd & 16th, 2025
Sign up or learn more over at www.bethhillmancoaching.com/conflictworkshop
I hope to see you there!
