You can feel it.
Small things turn into big reactions. Frustration shows up fast – often out of nowhere.
Maybe it’s the attitude that’s gotten sharper every month. The shutting down. The friend stuff that didn’t used to be a problem. The calls from school about focus issues and behavior.
Most pre-teens aren’t trying to misbehave. They’re reacting to emotions they don’t yet know how to manage, doing their best in situations they don’t know how to handle.
You’re setting boundaries. You’re having the conversations.
You’re doing your best to support them. But nothing is sticking.
This stage of life comes with a lot of change at once.
Emotionally, socially, developmentally, your pre-teen is trying to make sense of things they don’t fully understand yet.
If you could change one thing, it wouldn’t just be the behavior. It would be helping your child feel more in control, more confident.
The changes are quiet at first.
A meltdown that doesn’t escalate. A door that doesn’t slam. A school day that ends without a phone call. A kid who tells you something instead of disappearing into their room.
That’s why in my work with pre-teens, I get right to work building rapport and earning trust since I truly care about them.
Session by session, we work on real-life moments:
What happened at school today, what set them off at home last night.
We break those moments down together.
We come up with a game plan for next time.
They feel more confident and more in control – week by week, session by session.
I’ve worked with young people in some of the toughest situations out there.
Youth programs. Schools where kids were dealing with more than any adult should have to carry.
Pre-teens are a different beast, but the principle is the same: meet them where they are, and don’t talk down to them.
In our sessions, your child will learn to recognize what they’re feeling in the moment, understand what’s driving the reaction, and slow down before it takes over.
I use CBT-based tools to give them practical ways to respond instead of explode.
I bring in mindfulness and body-based awareness in ways that don’t feel weird or forced.
Pre-teen bodies are changing fast and learning to notice what’s happening in there is a skill they’ll use for the rest of their life.
And I support you, too. You’ll understand what’s going on beneath the behavior so you can respond in a way that reinforces growth, instead of guessing.
This isn’t about fixing your kid. It’s about giving them the skills to get through this stage of life with more steadiness than they have right now.
Don’t keep trying to figure this out on your own.
Schedule a free initial consultation.
We’ll talk about what you’ve been noticing, what your child is experiencing, and what working together could look like.
Call me today: (530) 215-1647
You've been in the loop. You know it's not working.
There's a way to move through your day with more clarity and follow-through.
Not for the version of you that has it together. For the version of you that's ready to figure it out.
Reach out today to schedule your free consultation and start building a way of thinking and responding that works for you.