Motivate, Don't Mandate
A practical, psychology-informed course for parents who want fewer power struggles and more honest connections with their teens.
Parenting a teenager can feel like a constant tug-of-war. The harder you try to help, the more resistance you meet. And somewhere along the way, conversations start to feel like arguments, lectures, or negotiations no one actually wins.
Motivate, Don't Mandate offers a different approach.
Grounded in Motivational Interviewing, neuroscience, and real-life parenting, this course teaches you how to guide your teen without controlling them. You’ll learn how to listen in ways that reduce defensiveness, respond when things go sideways, and support change that comes from them, not pressure from you.
This is a text-based, self-paced course designed to be read slowly, revisited often, and applied imperfectly. You’ll be invited to reflect, experiment, and take what works for your family and leave the rest because you are the expert on your life, your values, and your child.
The course is free because I believe healthy communication and knowledge should be accessible to everyone.
Also, most courses are boring. I didn’t want this to feel like one more obligation.
If you’d like to go deeper, ask questions, or be part of ongoing conversations about parenting, anxiety, and real life, you can join the paid member space at Everything is Behavioral Health.
It’s where the learning becomes more personal, the discussions go a little deeper, and the work becomes more connected.
If you’re ready to try a different way of communicating with your teen — one that relies less on control and more on trust — this course is here for you.
You don’t have to do this perfectly. You just have to start.