The school holidays roll around again and her daughter still doesn’t have anyone to hang out with. A parent writes in wondering if she’s doing something wrong, and whether filling the days with activities will help or make things worse.
Therapist Marie Vakakis responds to a listener question from a parent whose teenage daughter is struggling to make friends in high school. She looks at what loneliness can actually look like in teenagers, why pushing activities on a struggling teen so often backfires, and what it means to support a young person without trying to fix the problem for them.
This episode covers:
The difference between loneliness and solitude, and why that difference changes how a parent should respond
Why offering too many suggestions or activities can leave a struggling teen feeling more overwhelmed, not less
What screen time is often doing for a lonely teen, and how to get curious about it instead of shutting it down
Why nudging a teen to just go and talk to someone tends to backfire and increase avoidance
How emotion coaching can open up a conversation without a teen shutting down
What emotional availability looks like when a teen doesn’t want to talk about it
marievakakis.com.au