Coaches & Mentors for Teens and Young Adults
- Also see: Therapists for Teens
Parent Q&A
Select any title to view the full question and replies.
Personal trainer/teen mentor?
–Jun 6, 2024This is a long shot, but I figure if anyone has a recommendation, it'll be on BPN :) Our 17-year-old son struggles a lot with social anxiety and low self-esteem. He's not open to traditional therapy right now (has done a lot of that in the past). His psychologist suggested the idea of a mentor, ideally a younger male-identifying figure who can give him some support and guidance in a less "therapeutic" type setting. And a bonus would be if it could be done through personal training or basketball training, as those are two things our son is really enthusiastic about.
Jun 6, 2024Guidance Counselor for Young Adult
–Oct 10, 2023A young man, age 30, is seeking someone to work with on an ongoing basis financial, employment, education and career issues to move forward in life after after a decade + of troubling bad choices.
This isnt exactly therapy (though seeking that as well) but like a guidance counselor for an adult...is there such a person? Can anyone suggest or recommend? Thank you
Oct 10, 2023Coach for very depressed young adult daughter
–May 6, 2020My adult daughter has been depressed for years, and we haven't seen much improvement even after many years of therapy, most recently with an experienced DBT therapist. She is on anti-depressant meds. I am now researching the next steps for treatment.
Until we come up with a longer-term plan, I'm looking for a coach who can help her structure her days and set up some process for accountability. This might be an ADD coach who can help with procrastination and decisions. Or a "productivity coach" who can do the same. I've also heard about "behavior-activation" coaches. Ideally this person would be female, experienced and warm.
Thanks for your suggestions.
May 6, 2020Hello - my almost 18-year-old son may be returning to Berkeley after a year of wilderness then residential treatment. I have heard of people in other cities engaging life coaches to help their kids stay sober, keep in shape, and engage productively in their lives. We parents will do our part of course, but I would love to find a young man that my son could connect to in this way, someone who fills the slot between therapist and mentor. Does anyone have ideas, references, etc? Thanks
Aug 12, 2019Looking a peer coach/mentor for young adult
–Aug 8, 2019I'm looking for a peer mentor(female only) to provide regular social support for a young adult who struggles with ADHD, neuro diversity & social anxiety. Ideally someone who is studying to become a counselor or therapist & can model desired behaviors while out in the community. Any leads on how to find such a person highly appreciated. TY
Aug 8, 2019Case Manager/Therapist for Young Adult with Mental Illness
–Nov 27, 2018I am looking for a ‘case manager’ type therapist for my young adult son who has significant mental health issues and needs professional help to become more independent and responsible for his own well-being. He sees a therapist who provides specific treatment for his illness however I believe he would benefit from seeing a therapist/social worker one-on-one (i.e. not in a group at this time) who can help him on his day to day living, set short and longer-term goals, review with him how he spends his time and money, work on life skills and decision making. He has OPTUM (formerly UBH) insurance and it would be great to find someone in network, preferable in Oakland, Berkeley, or Albany.
Nov 27, 2018Life / Academic Coach for Middle School boy?
–Apr 3, 2018Our current 7th grader seems to be struggling with staying focused in class, not being disruptive, etc. and we are concerned. We'd like for him to take some time this summer to really focus on shoring up some skills and goals so he can stay on track.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a local coach who can work both on academics (I.e. how to craft an essay) and more of the motivation / executive function side of things?
Apr 3, 2018
You might want to check into East Gate Mentoring www.eastgatementoring.com and/or Team Wonder https://teamwonder.org/san-francisco-location/
My teen daughter worked with a mentor from Team Wonder but I also spoke with East Gate Mentoring and they seemed great. The mentor match is the most important thing.
My daughter's mentor picked her up once a week and they did an activity together based on my daughter's interests.
My other thought is the Trackers apprenticeship programs for high school aged kids. It's a group program but the mentors my kids had were very attuned to social emotional challenges and group dynamics. The physical activity helped too! https://trackersbay.com/youth/school-year/apprenticeships
Best of luck!
I highly, highly recommend Surf Circle. My son was dealing with similar issues and would not do therapy either (and I get it - it can be hard for children and teens). Surf Circle is led by a group of amazing male therapists who are also surfers. When my son did it a few years ago, they would take the teens out on the water, teach them how to surf and then come back to the beach and talk as a group while eating burritos. (and my son would most certainly never, ever! do group therapy). My son actually liked Surf Circle a lot and liked the other teens. I think the way they run the group doesn’t make it feel like therapy and it especially acknowledges the unique experiences of boys. And coincidentally, my son developed a passion for surfing and at now at 19 surfs pretty much every day and it has increased his confidence 100-fold. Surf Circle now also offers groups for girls too and neurodivergent boys.
www.surfcircle.org
We looked into something similar for our son and interviewed a few therapists from Psychology Today to inquire about a more informal approach. This therapist seemed excellent and offered more mentoring than therapy while playing basketball or similar activities your kid would be into. We didn’t move forward for other reasons but really liked this man’s approach.