Neil D Brown

07/17/2025

When a teen gets arrested, parents face shock and uncertainty. Neil advises using the crisis as an opportunity to address unhealthy family dynamics and guide teens toward responsibility through resources and support.

It’s not uncommon that I’ll get a call from a parent telling me that their son or daughter just got arrested and their attorney says they should come to me for counseling.

07/12/2025

Struggling with parent-teen power battles? Discover the Ending the Parent-Teen Control Battle Course by Neil Brown, LCSW. Learn proven strategies to end conflict, foster responsibility, and empower your teen to thrive.

Enroll now and transform your family dynamic!
👉 https://neildbrown.com/parent-teen-control-battle-course/

07/11/2025

My friend Bill and I had a terrific run in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park on a recent morning. Beautiful and rejuvenating to be among the redwoods.

Santa Cruz Mountains State Parks Felton, CA

07/08/2025

In this episode, Neil helps Sharon, a mom of two, navigate co-parenting with an abusive ex. A positive solution is to learn how to support your kids in recognizing harmful behaviors and setting healthy boundaries. https://neildbrown.com/podcast/how-do-i-share-custody-with-an-abusive-partner/

06/28/2025

Have teenagers? Feeling overwhelmed by parenting challenges?Join the Healthy Family Connections newsletter at neildbrown.com/newsletter-signup! Get expert tips, practical strategies, and support to build stronger, healthier relationships with your teens. Sign up today and start creating a thriving family dynamic!

06/26/2025

Punishing teens fuels rebellion. Empowering them? That’s the key to change! When schools respect and engage students, they create cleaner campuses, stronger communities, and better grades. Let’s trust our kids to lead!

Read more at neildbrown.com/parenting/have-a-problem-need-a-solution-ask-a-teenager

So many opportunities to have faith in our kids to create real change!

06/24/2025

Many parents feel the pressure to be “a perfect parent.” Let me reassure you that nobody parents perfectly. When it comes to raising kids, we’ve all done things that mental health professionals would advise against doing. We all get angry, and most of us raise our voices sometimes. We may lecture ineffectively, punish our kids for doing something they didn’t know was wrong, overindulge, over-support, underindulge, and under-support.

We give our teenagers guidance and set limits when they would probably be better off making decisions and learning about consequences on their own. Or we fail to step in to offer guidance or set limits when they truly need us to.

This is ordinary family life! Despite their parents’ human imperfections, kids can and do thrive, growing up to lead happy and successful lives.

06/20/2025

Struggling to get through to your teen? You’re not alone! In the latest Healthy Family Connections episode, Neil D. Brown, LCSW, reveals why parental blind spots block change and shares practical solutions to end control battles. https://neildbrown.com/podcast/the-challenge-of-parental-blind-spots/

Tune in to learn how to guide your teen back to a healthy path with Neil’s parenting advice.

Listen now and transform your family dynamics!

06/17/2025

Transform your relationship with your teen! Discover the proven method that helps teens develop responsible and accountable independence and brings peace of mind to parents. Details at the link below. Start today!

Discover effective strategies to improve your parent-teen relationship and empower your teenager to become a successful adult. Join our 'Ending the Parent-Teen Control Battle' course today!

06/13/2025

Is your teenager under functioning because of anxiety, depression, ADHD, hyper-sensitivity, oppositional behavior, learning differences or other neural differences? We talk about what to do about this in today’s podcast, How to Create Real Change with your Teenager.

https://neildbrown.com/podcast/how-to-create-real-change-with-your-teenager/

06/11/2025

Reversing the Toxic Triangle with Your Spouse and Teen

A common dilemma many parents face is when their co-parent disciplines the children with a harsh or negative tone.

They know — on the one hand — that parents need to support each other, yet on the other hand, they can’t support abusive or negative treatment of their child or teenager.

“I can betray my wife or betray my son,” a dad once told me. “I hate my choices here, and I resent both of them for putting me in this position. I feel so helpless and stuck.”

So once a family finds itself stuck in this toxic triangle, they can have a pretty hard time finding their way out of it. Each member of the triangle feels controlled and limited by the other two.

Read more about this situation played out with one family.

Neil provides solutions for a dad dealing with a toxic triangle relationship in Reversing the Toxic Triangle with Your Spouse and Teen

06/10/2025

The Relief, Frustration & Opportunities of Summer for Teens and their Families

The ten weeks or so of summertime creates a perfect opportunity to help your teen set goals, make plans, and execute against those plans.

Neil D Brown discusses productive summer activities for teens in his article The Relief, Frustration and Opportunities of Summer