Strong Teen, Harrogate (2026)

05/01/2026

Most New Year goals don’t make it past February.

Not because we’re lazy or unmotivated — but because we often set goals that are way too big from the start.

Every January, we tell ourselves this is the year we’ll completely change. We’ll get fitter, eat perfectly, feel confident all the time, stop procrastinating and finally “get our life together”- going to the gym every day, never scrolling on TikTok again, or suddenly being confident in every class.

A couple of weeks later, reality hits.
We skip a workout, stay up too late scrolling, miss a homework deadline or say the wrong thing in a group chat.
Then the thought kicks in: “I’ve failed again. What’s the point?”

That’s usually when we give up.

The problem isn’t us — it’s the approach. Big, dramatic goals feel exciting at first, but real change doesn’t work like that. Our brains change through small, consistent steps.

Here’s a better way to set goals:

Start small, not extreme
We don’t need to fix everything at once. Small changes add up.
For example: walking to school twice a week, revising for 15 minutes after dinner, or putting your phone down 10 minutes earlier at night.

Make goals clear and realistic
“Do better at school” or “be more confident” is too vague.
Clear goals help — like speaking once in class each week, or completing homework before gaming.

Focus on progress, not perfection
Success isn’t just results or grades. It’s the effort we put in — showing up to revision, going to practice even when we don’t feel like it, or trying again after a bad test.

Be kind when things go wrong
We will mess up. That’s normal.
Missing a revision session or having a bad day doesn’t mean we’ve failed — it just means we’re human.

Mindset matters most
Our inner voice makes a big difference.
“I always mess up” holds us back.
“I’m learning and improving” helps us keep going.

The key thing to remember: we don’t need more willpower. We need better mindset foundations — self-belief, a sense of control, and coping skills for stress, exams, friendships and pressure.

That’s where real, lasting change starts.

28/12/2025

🚀 Helping Teens Move From Stuck to Capable 🚀

If you’re a parent or carer with a teen who seems low, withdrawn or overwhelmed, you’re not alone. Teenage depression affects many young people — and the encouraging news is that support focused on mindset and practical skills can genuinely help teens move forward.

Research shows that approaches which strengthen emotional skills, flexible thinking and resilience can reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents. In particular, growth mindset–based interventions have been shown to help teens feel more in control and less defined by their struggles over time. Cognitive-behavioural approaches, which inform much mindset coaching, are also widely recognised in UK guidance as effective for supporting young people with low mood.

Teen mindset coaching isn’t about forcing positivity or pretending everything’s fine. It’s about meeting teens where they are and helping them build tools they can actually use.

Through coaching, teens learn to:
✨ understand what’s happening in their thoughts and emotions

✨ challenge harsh self-talk

✨ develop healthy coping strategies

✨ build confidence and self-belief

✨ take small, manageable steps forward

Many teens don’t feel ready for therapy, or they’re facing long waiting lists. Coaching can offer a calm, supportive space where teens feel listened to, respected and encouraged to grow at their own pace.

When depression makes life feel overwhelming, the right support can help teens rediscover their capability, resilience and sense of direction.

If you’d like to explore whether teen mindset coaching could support your family, feel free to get in touch — I am always happy to chat. 💬

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas to all 🎄

23/12/2025

Parenting a teen with emetophobia (the fear of sick) can feel exhausting and confusing.

You might see them constantly trying to stay “safe” — keeping water nearby at all times, chewing gum, washing hands repeatedly, checking use-by dates, or scanning their body for signs something is wrong.

These behaviours make complete sense.

Research into anxiety shows that when the mind perceives threat, it naturally looks for ways to regain control. The problem is that safety-seeking behaviours don’t calm the anxious mind long term — they actually train it to believe there is something to fear.

Anxiety isn’t caused by food, germs, sensations or situations themselves. It’s created by how the mind interprets thoughts and uncertainty in the moment. People with emetophobia are often bright, conscientious and sensitive — their minds are simply very good at imagining danger.

A mindset-based approach helps us understand how fear is generated, so we no longer need to fight thoughts or rely on constant safety strategies. When this understanding clicks, behaviours like checking, avoiding and reassurance-seeking naturally fall away — without force or pressure.

As a teen mindset coach, I’ve helped young people return to eating freely, attending school, socialising and trusting their bodies again. Parents often notice calmer homes, less conflict, and teens who feel capable rather than controlled by fear.

Your teen isn’t broken — and neither is your parenting.

With the right understanding, real change is possible 💛

22/12/2025

Do you ever notice your teen speaking to themselves in ways you would never allow anyone else to speak to them?

When a teen seems stuck in a loop of negative self-talk — “I’m not good enough,” “I always mess up,” “What’s the point?” — it can be deeply worrying. You are not alone, and neither is your teen.

Many teens aren’t struggling because something is wrong with them, but because they’ve learned patterns of thinking that quietly chip away at confidence. These patterns can become automatic, especially during adolescence when the brain is highly sensitive to threat, comparison, and perceived failure.

The encouraging news is that thoughts are not facts — they’re habits. And habits can be changed.

Rather than trying to argue your teen out of their thoughts or rushing to reassure them, it can help to gently guide them to notice what they’re saying to themselves. When a thought is questioned rather than immediately believed, it begins to lose its power. Confidence doesn’t come from constant positivity; it grows when teens learn they don’t have to obey every thought their mind produces.

Your calm presence matters more than perfect words. Curiosity, patience, and consistency create safety — and safety is what allows real change to happen.

Teen mindset coaching helps young people understand how their mind works so they can feel more in control of their emotions, resilience, and self-belief — and thrive from the inside out.

I have some space in January. If you are interested in learning more, drop me a message and we can arrange a chat.

17/12/2025

Being a teenager today isn’t easy. Pressure to fit in, perform, look a certain way, and have life “figured out” can feel overwhelming. But here’s the message every young person deserves to hear: you are not broken, and you don’t need fixing.

Mindset coaching is built on the belief that teens already have everything they need within them. When young people understand how their minds work, something powerful happens—they realise they have choice. Choice in how they respond to challenges. Choice in how they see themselves. Choice in how they move forward with confidence.

Coaching supports teens in moving from self-doubt to self-trust, from anxiety to calm, and from feeling stuck to feeling capable. Not by telling them what to think, but by helping them see how their thoughts shape their emotions, behaviours, and experiences. When that understanding clicks, real change begins.

This work is about building emotional resilience, self-belief, and a steady inner confidence that lasts far beyond school, exams, or social media. It’s about empowering teens to recognise their own strength and potential.

Because life will always bring challenges—but we can all learn that we have what it takes to handle whatever comes next. 💛

Online or in-person sessions available.

15/12/2025

Big Emotions, Developing Brains: Helping Teens Turn Anger Into Strength

Anger is a normal emotion for teenagers — but when it shows up as constant frustration, shutdowns, or explosive reactions, it can leave the whole household feeling exhausted and unsure how to help. Many don’t lack discipline or care; they lack the tools to understand what’s happening inside their minds and bodies.

Research shows that adolescence is a time when the emotional part of the brain develops faster than the part responsible for impulse control and decision-making (Casey, Jones, & Hare, 2008). This means big emotions can feel overwhelming, even when teens want to respond differently. Studies also highlight that learning emotional regulation and cognitive reframing skills can significantly reduce anger and improve wellbeing (Gross, 2015).

Mindset coaching offers a supportive, non-judgmental space where young people can explore their triggers, learn practical strategies to calm their nervous system, and build healthier thought patterns. Rather than being told to “calm down,” they learn how to do it — and why their reactions make sense.

When we feel understood and empowered, anger often softens into confidence, self-awareness, and resilience. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but with the right guidance, it does happen — and it benefits everyone involved.

I am always happy to chat if you would like more info 😀

08/12/2025

As Christmas approaches and social media fills with festive outings and friendship highlights, many teens feel a stronger pull to stay online. Research shows this is often driven by FoMO — Fear of Missing Out — a well-documented predictor of heavier and more frequent social-media use in young people.

A large study of 2,663 adolescents found that higher FoMO was directly linked to using more platforms and checking them more often, particularly those centred on peer approval.
Another study of 472 teens (aged 11–19) reported that FoMO increases emotional distress by heightening sensitivity to online social feedback and fuelling more compulsive social-media use.

During Christmas, this pressure naturally rises. Teens compare their day to carefully curated posts from friends, and the worry of “not being included” can lead to late-night scrolling, disrupted sleep and lower mood.

Parents can play a powerful role here — not by removing phones, but by creating open, reassuring conversations. Asking how certain posts make them feel, encouraging small screen breaks, and offering warm offline moments helps teens feel grounded and less driven by online comparison. Mindset coaching can also support young people to build confidence, manage FoMO and enjoy the holidays on their own terms.

06/12/2025

Starting university is an exciting step — but it’s also a huge adjustment, and many young people find the first term more draining than they expected. UK data shows that around 6% of first-time undergraduates don’t continue into their second year, and loneliness is increasingly common, with many students saying they struggle to form secure friendships.

If your young person has come home feeling exhausted, overwhelmed or unsure where they fit in, please know this is far more common than it seems. Recently, I’ve supported several students who spent the first term juggling homesickness, academic pressure, and the sheer task of looking after themselves — and it left them feeling burnt out and disconnected.

This is exactly where mindset coaching for young people can make a profound difference. Coaching gives them a safe, supportive space to unpack their worries, rebuild confidence, and develop healthy routines and thought patterns that make university life manageable again. It helps them feel grounded, capable and less alone, empowering them to step into the new year with more resilience and a clearer sense of who they are becoming.

For many students, a little guided support is the shift that carries them from “just surviving” to genuinely thriving.

Drop me a message if your young person could do with short 6 week course to build them up.

Zoom and face to face sessions available.

25/11/2025

✨ How To Support Teens Struggling With Friendships✨

If your teen is feeling left out or worried about not having a “best mate,” it’s tough to watch — but you can make a real difference just by being present.

🌱 Listen without fixing.
Simple, calm validation goes a long way: "That sounds really tough… I’m here if you want to talk.”

🌱 Normalise the friendship ups and downs - friendships shift as they grow — it’s completely normal.

🌱 Reassure them that not having a BFF is okay - they are still discovering who they are and what friendships feel right for them.

✨ How Mindset Coaching Helps

Mindset coaching gives young people practical tools to:

💛 Build self-esteem that isn’t dependent on others

💛 Handle drama and conflict with confidence

💛 Understand their values and choose healthier friendships

💛 Become more resilient and secure in who they are

You can’t control their social world, but you can give them the support — and skills — to navigate it with confidence.

Please get in touch if you are interested on 07977 581056

19/11/2025

🎄 Parents, let’s talk perfectionism—yours AND your teen’s.

As the run-up to Christmas ramps up, so does the pressure to “get everything right.” Perfect gifts, perfect grades, perfect family moments… it’s a lot. And research on parental perfectionism shows that when we hold ourselves to unrealistically high standards, our teens quietly pick up the same pressure. They start believing that mistakes equal failure—and that can drain their confidence and joy fast.

This season, try modelling something more powerful than perfection: self-compassion. Let your teen see you choose “good enough,” take breaks, laugh when plans go sideways, and value connection over performance. These are the mindset skills that help teens build resilience, motivation, and emotional wellbeing long after the festive period ends.

Small shifts in how you respond to pressure can create big shifts in how your teen responds to their own. That’s a gift worth giving. 💛✨

16/11/2025

As we look back on Anti-Bullying Week, it’s important to remind ourselves that we have more power than we think.

Research shows that when we believe in our own abilities — what scientists call self-efficacy — we actually handle tough situations better and feel healthier overall, even when we face bullying (Grevenstein et al., 2019).

A huge study of over 70,000 young people found that bullying can lower our confidence, which is exactly why building our self-belief matters so much (Zhao et al., 2023). The stronger we feel inside, the harder it is for someone else’s behaviour to break us.

We can also protect ourselves by working on self-regulation — things like pausing before reacting or choosing not to respond with anger. Research shows these skills help guard us from both in-person and online bullying.

And when we treat ourselves with self-compassion, we bounce back faster from unkindness (Mérida-López et al., 2025).

We can’t always control others, but we can control our mindset — and that gives us real strength. 💛

Strong Teen

05/01/2026

28/12/2025

25/12/2025

23/12/2025

22/12/2025

17/12/2025

15/12/2025

08/12/2025

06/12/2025

25/11/2025

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