Working with Teens:
A 4-month Live
Mentoring Program
for Practitioners
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To be notified of future group training opportunities, click here to email me.
If you're interested in 1:1 practitioner mentoring programs
click here to book an exploratory call with me.
Are You a
Three Principles Coach
interested in working with teens?
Join me for a unique, intimate, and in-depth mentoring program on working with teens, young adults, and parents from the Three Principles approach.
I’ll share two decades of experience working with young people in a way that has the potential to build a robust and sustainable practice while creating powerful and invigorating client results.
If you’re a Three Principles coach or practitioner interested in helping teens, or you’re interested in exploring the opportunity, this program was designed for you.
The magic of a niche...
Do you want a steady stream of clients that are engaged in the coaching process, and motivated to change?
Most coaches want a private practice that leaves them feeling exhilarated at the end of the day, generates steady referrals, and develops a level of expertise and confidence that gains momentum over time.
Across most industries, including coaching, one of the most important elements to creating a thriving practice is to create a niche. If you’ve come to this page, you probably already know this.
It might seem counterintuitive to focus on one type of client rather than focus on all types. That’s how it looked to me.
But it turns out that having a specialized skill sets you apart, provides a competitive edge, and creates a level of competency that builds very quickly.
Why a Little Bit of Three Principles goes a Very Long Way with Teens
The funny thing is when I started working with teens, it wasn't intentional. At 27 I joined a private practice group of colleagues in their 50's. Somehow our teen clients were comfortable talking to me. I looked like I was 13 so I figured it was age-related.
But I was fresh out of grad school and had never sat in front of a client.
However, I'd caught glimpses of my own innate health. And if you’re reading this, I’m guessing you have too.
What I’d seen for myself was that even though I looked and felt broken and sick, I had just as much access to wisdom and resilience as everyone else.
So if that was true for me, it had to be true for any client, including all troubled teens. That faith and reassurance was all I had, and it was enough.
With barely any experience, I was seeing these tormented young people quiet down, get open, and get reflective. And they started finding their own clarity, common sense, and perspective. It was magic. It was like opening a jar that someone had loosened already. And I was hooked.
Just under the surface, teens are so open, ready to trust, and willing to consider anything. So a relatively small dose of the Three Principles carries the potential for a level of faith, relief, and reassurance that clears their heads, refreshes their outlook, and re-boots their system.
Ultimately, the reason teens were comfortable with me was not my age or how young I looked. They relaxed around me because I was certain they had just as much wisdom, common sense, and resilience as adults.
I talked to them and treated them like fully capable, fully intact pre-adults. We might be the only people in their lives that see them that way.
And that's one of the pillars of this program and my work as a whole.
Hear what past participants of 'Working With Teens' have to say...
"Erika will share her ninja level understanding related to parenting all based in the understanding of the Three Principles.
She has been an amazing resource for Angus and myself as well as our girls. She is smart, funny, and ruthless when it comes to trusting the innate wisdom within to flourish in your kids"
Rohini and Angus Ross
'Rewilding Love' podcast
Why I Think Everyone
Should Work With Teens
Am I biased? Completely. I think everyone should work with teens and young adults.
In 23 years of full-time coaching, my work with teen clients has been nonstop exciting, real, refreshing, and gratifying to the point that I have more energy at the end of the day than I had at the beginning. The vitality, hope, and openness that happens when they change is simply contagious.
But more than that, when I started focusing on the same kinds of clients, I became fluent in that world. I developed a depth and level of understanding that created confidence, competence, insight, and reassurance in me, which flowed down to my young clients and their parents.
What I also found was that my client work took a quantum leap because I developed the eyes for nuance because I was immersed in the world of young people. My listening became fine-tuned. I picked up on things earlier in our conversations and started seeing progress and impact sooner.
And all those things empowered the rest of my client work. The work I do with other types of clients improved because the more depth and understanding I found, the more insight I had about humanity, not just teens.
Depth is funny like that. Somehow with depth comes breadth.
So if you want to add a discriminator and competitive edge, and pivot to another area of focus down the line, you can. It’s another tool in the toolbox.
Why bringing a Three Principles perspective to a struggling teen is so powerful
The number of teens and young adults that are struggling and looking for help is rising fast. There’s already a shortage of providers that help teens. And of those providers, like in any industry, the skill level is hit and miss.
There’s nobody more motivated, grateful, and open than a struggling young person that finds someone to talk to that truly listens and truly cares.
And because the parents of struggling teens are often frantic, scared, and insecure, you become the answer to their problem, the source of their hope, relief, and mental health.
When you’re a resource for adults, they typically have friends, a colleague, sibling, or partner they can turn to. But when you’re a resource for a young person, chances are you’re the only person they can trust that’s in their corner.
Teens generally say their parents can’t help them because they’re distracted, freaked out, or intrusive. Or they’re part of the problem. They can’t go to their friends for help because they don’t want to be seen as a downer, as weird or unstable, or they’re afraid their friends will tell people.
Most teens are typically getting through things without anyone.
For me, the feeling of being that one person in someone’s corner is the reason I started on this career path. You’ll feel it, and so will the parents. You’re an answer in a sea of problems. And you see health and hope where everyone else (including themselves) sees dysfunction and mess.
So the appreciation is there. People don’t always pay to help themselves, but they’ll move mountains to help their kids. It’s a problem they desperately want to fix, and the one thing they can’t fix themselves. It’s like having your hands tied behind your back. Helping one teen changes so many lives, including yours.
How will I know if working with teens is a good specialty area for me?
Explore it. Try it out. It takes relatively little training and experience in one specific area of an industry to gain a competitive edge over all the non-specialized providers out there.
After some learning and a handful of teen or young adult clients, your learning and experience will start to set you apart from everyone else. And that will continue to build.
Associate your name with that area and a reputation will follow. Over time you’ll see if that niche will become a steady source of income, a way of opening doors should you explore interests down the line, or the discovery of a true calling the way I’ve found.
What you can Expect from this Program
This will be a small, intimate group, with in-depth retreats, personal coaching and group support, with a private Facebook group to share with me and fellow participants.
Delivery is 100% online so you can join from wherever you are in the world. And just dial in if you can’t come in person.
Being able to share this understanding in a way that connects to teenagers is one of the most direct ways to deepen your own grounding.
Whether you take this training to use for your own family, or whether you want to expand your practice to teenage or parent clients, this training is designed to raise your level of insight and clarity.
Some of the topics we'll cover:
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How to start the first few sessions with a young client
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Providing structure in the sessions, and in the coaching process as a whole
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Using teen-friendly language
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Getting buy-in, support, and trust from parents
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Handling parent expectations
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Extreme behaviors (self-harm, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, rage, chronic isolation)
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Creating rapport with teens: getting them open and receptive
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Creating rapport with parents: listening and getting them to listen
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Handling raw teenage emotions (insecure, withdrawn, self-conscious, wary, upset, hopeless)
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Teaching teens to find their own wisdom, common sense, and instincts
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Listening as your most powerful asset (and the best way to avoid feeling lost, stupid, or in the hot-seat)
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The digital era: electronics and social media
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Feeling like you’re in over your head without feeling uncomfortable or insecure
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Seeing the help you provide as a means to teach the principles
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Why working with teens is different from working with adults
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Exploring the most common topics teens bring up in sessions
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Exploring the most common topics parents bring up in sessions
"Erika Bugbee is the teen whisperer.
She’s also the 'parents-of-teens' whisperer.
Erika works with teens and their parents in ways that look like magic, but are deceptively simple and full of common sense. She talks about how understanding what a teen’s inner life is like–even just a little bit–can make a gigantic difference in the quality of your interactions.
You will love this conversation. Listen lightly, but listen for the depth and the feeling in how Erika speaks. It almost sounds too simple to actually work, but if you saw the impact she has with her clients you’d know that you were hearing truth.”
Dr Amy Johnson, author of The Little Book of Big Change
The Structure
There’s no better way to connect to your power and impact as a practitioner than by immersing yourself in a concentrated and engaged learning environment. The main elements of this program include:
2-Day Opening Session
This program starts off with two full days together as a group exploring the fundamentals and essence of creating change in young clients. For me, working with young people pushed me to get out of my own BS and my 'wrap,' and connect to my own clarity and what I know to be true about thought and the Three Principles.
This is where I found my way out of my intellect and into something alive, real, and true, because that's what young clients want and need. They don't need much, but the moments of faith, authenticity, and certainty that they feel from you can't be fake. Since you can't give away what you don't have, this 4-month program is where you re-connect to those feelings in yourself. And it starts here in the 2-day Opening Session. So we will hit the ground running.
Date: Feb 2-3, 2023 (Thursday - Friday)
Time: 8am - 2pm Pacific Time
Personal Coaching:
You get three 1-hour coaching sessions. I will be your personal coach and mentor during these 4 months. The individual sessions will give you a space to stop, get in a reflective space, ask questions, and fully integrate what you're learning. Often when we learn or see something new and powerful, we tend to jump back into doing life without really giving our insights space to breathe and unfold. This is where the insights you learn from this program have a chance to shine new light across all areas of your life -- in your work, your home life, your parenting, your relationships.
Group Calls:
Every two weeks of the program we'll have 90-minute group sessions that provide in-depth and focused explorations of the most essential topics unique to this group. The small group sessions allows each person to benefit from being part of a live and dynamic conversation. In my years of teaching and studying how people learn, I’ve discovered that when we forget about ourselves and our unique blindspots, and listen to other people’s questions and insights, we benefit from having distance and outside perspective.
We get a fresh set of eyes when we listen to other people struggling with their blindspots. We get ‘out of the weeds’ of our own outlook and see things from 10,000 feet in a way that gets us out of our intellect, and out of our own way. Some of the biggest insights and jumps in levels of consciousness I’ve seen have happened in a group setting. This group component was a big part of the inspiration behind creating this program and is one of the aspects I’m most excited about for myself and all of you.
2023 Group Call Dates:
Feb 9 and Feb 23
Mar 9 and Mar 23
Apr 6 and Apr 20
May 4 and May 18
10-11:30am Pacific Standard Time
2023 Guest Speakers
You'll see live exclusive interviews from 4 different guest presenters specifically hand-picked for their unique talent and expertise working with youth, and will have a chance to ask questions and explore areas of interest.
2023 Guest Speaker Dates:
Feb 16, March 16, April 13, May 11
10-11:30am Pacific Standard Time
2-Day Closing Session:
This is where we integrate what we've learned over the last 4 months. We will look at how to apply your insights and understanding into any type of issue or challenge you come across in any young client or parent you help in the future. This also where we focus on how to go about your client work and daily life in a way that improves your personal and professional grounding in the Three Principles. The goal is to develop a level of humility, openness, and respect for learning as a lifestyle, as that's the very thing you'll be pointing your young clients toward. This program is designed to set you on that path.
Date: May 25-26, 2023 (Thursday - Friday)
Time: 8am - 2pm Pacific Time
Bonus:
A comprehensive Three Principles online course 'INSIGHT: The Principles of a Fulfilling and High-Performance Life' (a $595 value)
Participants in this program will have full access, at no charge, to a comprehensive online course that teaches the Three Principles for those that would like to deepen their personal and professional grounding. This course was co-created by me, along with my colleagues and former business partners Dr. George Pransky and Kara Stamback, M.A.. It's laid out in 8 one-hour lessons and broken into short, bite-size chunks. It's accessible 24/7 using any smartphone, tablet or computer.
'Erika is an amazing teacher. She’s thoughtful, funny, relaxed, down to earth, and clearly knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to working with young adults, their caregivers and practitioners. To me, this program has been a master course on what to expect and not to expect when working with teens (and parenting teens) and how to show up as best I can to support them, which Erika so beautifully demonstrated in the teen and parent coaching demos and class content'
Linda Fennel
I loved the delivery. It was great to be able to share challenges, bounce ideas off of you, and get personal feedback. The coaching demos allowed me to see how you work with parents and teens and how you walk them through this understanding in such a practical way.
Jessica
You have my deepest appreciation for all of the work you did for putting together this program. Your passion for helping teens and parents is so evident, and contagious. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!!!❤️
Helen Menefee
“I LOVED the client and parent sessions you shared - what an incredible and an incredibly helpful gift! Wow. I loved it. Thank you...I so appreciate your learning stance. I love it, relate to it and feel you honestly caring for us all and all future participants. Wonderful program!” Sharon Strimling
I have a lot of thinking around talking in these courses but the way Erika made it so comfortable and there was no pressure to speak which actually made me want to!
Clare A
Guest Speakers
2023 Session
To Be Announced
About Erika
Erika Bugbee, M.A. is the founder of Erika Bugbee Coaching Group outside Seattle, Washington. She specializes in teens, young adults, and parents, and practitioner training and mentoring through private video-call programs and 4-day face-to-face immersion programs.
Erika also works with individuals and couples and is a frequent international webinar and conference presenter. Erika has spent 23 years helping people individually, facilitating programs, and teaching groups in organizations that include BAE Systems, Adams Outdoor Advertising, Island Hospital, Kids4Kids, and the University of Washington Mental Health Center.
As the daughter of Three Principles practitioners and pioneers Dr. George and Linda Pransky, Erika grew up learning the Three Principles and ultimately became a partner at Pransky and Associates where she worked for 18 years.
She co-founded the company’s Online Learning Division creating online courses that teach the Three Principles from the ground-up for the public. Currently these courses have reached 32 countries and continue to spread.
Erika earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology through University of Oregon and City University, respectively. She lives with her husband of 23 years, their two teenagers, and two dogs.
Your Investment
and what to do next
$5700 USD
Monthly Payment Plan Available:
4 x $1300
The previous training session has ended.
To be notified of future group training opportunities, click here to email me.
If you're interested in 1:1 practitioner mentoring programs
click here to book an exploratory call with me.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t have much experience with teens, and frankly I find myself a bit uncomfortable, awkward or nervous even being around them at family gatherings. Is that a problem? Does it mean I'm not cut out to work with them?
Doesn’t matter. If you're ok with being a little clumsy when you learn new things, the nerves will fall away with a little time. We’re not good at most things when we first start out. If you focus and stick with something, and keep building experience, in a relatively short time your strengths, confidence, and competence will naturally emerge.
I still get nervous or awkward periodically with a new client, often when they're nervous themselves. But within the first session or two, usually within the first 30 minutes, I have a few moments where I feel a connection to them, I warm up to them, or see something endearing or interesting about them, and the tension disappears.
What if I don’t have kids, or I only have younger kids?
Having kids yourself doesn't give you any advantage in working with them. Maybe someone with teens is more familiar with their world and daily lives. However, those of us with kids have the disadvantage of having our own fears, worries, and biases that we have to keep in check when we talk to young people.
You were a teen yourself, with teens all around you, so your ability to relate and see life through their eyes is not a stretch at all.
Yet more importantly, you're a human being that gets caught in overwhelm, insecurity, or the feeling that you're in it alone. Just like your adult clients. It feels real no matter what the details look like. And when you get your bearings back, you find your way again. So when you strip it down, we're all going through the same thing. As long as you're human, you're more than qualified to help anyone that walks through your door.
What if I don’t really like teenagers?
This program and type of work isn't for everyone, and it may not be for you. While it might be a potential income stream, give you a competitive edge, or maybe you already have potential young clients coming to you for help, having a genuine feeling of affinity, interest, and goodwill is a must-have as a helping professional. And compared to adults, teens do have a reputation for being less pleasant on the outside when you see them in public.
But in my experience, the ones that tend to come to us for help are either open and friendly up front, or are withdrawn or reserved in a way that's surprisingly skin-deep. If you're someone that WANTS to like teenagers, and willing to hang in there and get to know the one that's right in front of you, this is an area worth considering.
Is there a part of the program focused on communicating with, handling, or working with the parents?
Yes, I have entire sections of this program focused on working with parents because you'll inevitably end up doing it. Sometimes teens really need the help but are too shut down, overwhelmed, or anxious to talk to me or anyone else, don't trust anyone their parents recommend, or too troubled to show up for sessions. So I coach the parents to find their own well-being in the face of their troubled teen's ups and downs, and to learn to see and respect the fact that they have moments of wisdom and perspective just like adults. I've found that working with parents, who are on the front lines, is an equally powerful way of helping a troubled teen.
In fact some participants in this program will likely be drawn to working only with parents, and not the teens themselves. The more insight you have around seeing teens through the lense of the Three Principles, the more you can bring that insight to parents and provide the confidence, faith, and reassurance they're looking for.
And for those practitioners who want to work primarily with teens and not parents, you'll still be interacting with the parents to set up and pay for the sessions, and you need their to trust and support what you're doing. Understanding a few key elements in managing parent relationships will help you get the cooperation and buy-in from parents that makes them true allies.
What if I want to work with parents of teens exclusively, rather than working with teens directly? Would this program still be helpful?
Yes, in fact a big part of the reason I created this program is to bring insight and understanding to practitioners working with parents. If you're one of those practitioners that's inspired to focus on the next generation, to do something to address the rising mental health crisis in young adults, but have zero interest in talking to teens themselves, you're not alone. My favorite part of being an adult is having the clarity and honesty within myself to admit where my energy and enthusiasm lives (and doesn't live).
If teens make you want to flee the scene, don't work with them! Working with parents, who are on the front lines of a troubled teen's life, is just as powerful as helping the teens themselves. Of all the elements in a teen's environment, the emotional state of a parent can have an influence that's much more profound than the friends, the media, or the culture that surrounds that teen.
Will I receive some sort of certificate, or certification, once I finish this program?
While I don't provide a certification process for any of my programs, all participants of this program will receive a Certificate of Completion once the program ends.
© Erika Bugbee Coaching 2018 - 2023