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
155. The Pain of Watching Your Teen Resist Help: Understanding Resistance to Change
It’s one of the most heartbreaking parts of parenting a struggling kid: watching them resist the very help they need, even when they KNOW they need it.
In today’s conversation, Seth and I talk about the resistance to change: what it looks like, why it shows up, and how powerless it can make you feel as a parent. Whether your teen is avoiding treatment, clinging to unhealthy coping mechanisms, or simply refusing to engage with the support you're offering, this kind of resistance can feel like an endless loop of frustration, fear, and grief.
We unpack the patterns we’ve seen over and over again, both in teens and in the families who love them. And we offer encouragement and insight to help you hold your ground without giving up hope.
You are not alone in this.
In this episode on resistance to change, we discuss:
- The difference between not knowing and not being willing
- Why fear and shame often sit at the root of resistance
- What to do when your teen knows something has to change, but still refuses help
- How to offer support without enabling or rescuing
- When it’s appropriate to set limits or natural consequences
- The deep inner work parents have to do to stay steady through the spiral
- And more.
Looking for support?
🗺️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!
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.
Have a question or need support? You can email me at beth@bethhillmancoaching.com
You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
Subscribing to the show
And remember parents, the change begins with us.
🔆 Small GROUP COACHING program starting September 3rd, 2025 🔆
Sign up or learn more over at www.bethhillmancoaching.com/groups
I hope to see you there!
