In today’s world, who isn’t feeling stressed? From the everyday—work, school, relationships, social media—to the unprecedented, you may often feel anxious and overwhelmed. Terri Bacow, Ph.D., developed "Goodbye, Anxiety: A Guided Journal for Overcoming Worry." to help you find relief with accessible and helpful writing exercises designed to diminish worries, insecurities, fears, conflicts, and stressors for your unique issues. Learn practical, yet highly effective, coping skills developed from cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and other scientifically-based therapy approaches to use whenever anxiety arises.

Dr. Terri Bacow is a widely known expert in cognitive behavioral therapy, an evidence-based therapy approach. A Brown University graduate, she has authored several peer-reviewed papers based on her research and sees clients in her private practice on the Upper West Side. She is a media contributor and has been featured in Women’s Health and Shape magazines, as well as various blogs and podcasts. Dr. Bacow lives with her husband and two children on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. When not seeing patients, she loves watching TV, exchanging memes with her friends, and engaging in affordable retail therapy.

Navigating a competitive academic environment is one of the biggest stressors for teens and their parents. Cynthia Muchnick, MA, author of The Parent Compass, provides guidance on what parents’ roles should be in supporting their students’ mental health as they traverse the maze of the adolescent years. Muchnick will provide advice on fostering grit, strategies to help your teen approach life with intention, and effective ways to use technology in your home, all while preserving a trusting, positive relationship with your child.

Cynthia Clumeck Muchnick, MA, is a graduate of Stanford University and has been working in education for the past 25+ years as a former Assistant Director of College Admission, high school teacher, educational consultant, and author of five other education-related books. She speaks professionally to parent, student, teacher, and business groups on topics such as study skills, the adolescent journey, college admission, and now the parent compass movement.

**Books will be available for sale at the event and signed by the author.

In the face of escalating irritability and diminishing resilience in our kids and ourselves, how do we reduce everyone’s frustration load? When upset is unavoidable, how do we get better, and help kids get better at handling it? Jenni Pertuset provides a map for understanding frustration, anger, and aggression, for adults to create more ease at school and at home.

Jenni Pertuset is a parent coach and family therapist. Offering insight into emotion, instinct, and human development, she champions parents’ best intentions to help create a family culture of connection and growth, where everyone thrives.

Teenagers are overloaded and strapped for time. It’s no surprise sleep takes a backseat, with far-reaching consequences. Join Lisa Lewis MS, author of The Sleep-Deprived Teen, to learn strategies to foster healthier sleep patterns. Lewis will share actionable advice to mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation and accompanying anxiety.

Lisa L. Lewis, MS, is a freelance journalist who covers the intersection of parenting, public health, and education. She played a key role in California’s new healthy school start times law, the first of its kind in the nation. Lewis is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, and Your Teen, among others. She’s a parent to two teens, who inspire much of what she writes about.

Middle school is a critical stage that parents can’t afford to ignore. These years of rapid change offer a low-stakes training ground to teach kids the key skills they’ll need to thrive, including making good friend choices, negotiating conflict, regulating their own emotions, be their own advocates, and more. To answer parents’ most common questions and struggles, Fagell combines her professional and personal expertise with stories and advice from prominent psychologists, doctors, parents, educators, school professionals, and middle schoolers themselves.

Phyllis Fagell, the author of Middle School Matters, is a licensed clinical professional counselor, certified professional school counselor, journalist, and a mom of three. She currently works full-time as a school counselor in Washington, D.C. and provides therapy to children, teens, and adults in her private practice. She is also a frequent contributor to several well-known publications, including the Washington Post.

What do you know about eating disorders? Experts have indicated that eating disorders in teens have exploded since the pandemic. Myths and misconceptions abound about these complex medical and psychiatric illnesses. Not always originating from body dysmorphia, they are linked with high achievement and are a form of coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, and a loss of control over one’s life. All genders, racial and socio-economic backgrounds are impacted. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness but recovery chances increase with early detection.

Betsy Malm from the Eating Recovery Center in Bellevue will help you understand causes, how to recognize signs and symptoms, and how parents and counselors can support students who may be struggling. Q&A will include students who can answer questions about their personal experience. This event is brought to us by the Issaquah High Healthy Student Program and PTSA.

Many of us have confided in others during dark times, and vice versa. But it can feel awkward, if not downright frightening, not knowing what to do when a loved one or a peer shows suicide warning signs. Developed by Forefront, the five simple and effective LEARN® steps empower individuals to help others move in the direction of hope, recovery, and survival.

Amy Paulson’s passion is to inspire and equip others in the areas of mental health, parenting support, and leadership development. She currently serves as a Forefront in The Schools Program Specialist, Coach and Community Trainer. Her background includes 20+years of creating and facilitating parent education programs, crisis intervention, high school and higher ed mental health support in educational settings, community organizations, and in the corporate arena. Amy received her MSW from the University of Washington School of Social Work and is a Certified Professional Coach.

Do you have questions about online safety? Do you want to help your students build a healthy relationship with technology? Join us for an evening with Diana Graber! She deftly navigates and demystifies the complicated digital landscape facing today’s kids, defining buzzwords, answering crucial questions and providing parents and educators with activities they can use to teach children to harness technology rather than be harmed by it.

Diana Graber is the author of “Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology”. She co-founded CyberWise.org and founded CyberCivics.com, two organizations dedicated to helping adults and students learn digital citizenship and literacy skills. A long-time media producer with an M.A. in “Media Psychology & Social Change,” Graber is a recognized expert on technology’s impact on human behavior.

In children, powerful emotions come with the territory. Contending with academic pressure, social media stress, worries about the future, and concerns about mental health, it’s easy for children—and parents—to feel anxious and overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Join Dr. Damour and Reena Ninan as they share clear, research-informed explanations alongside illuminating, real-life examples, giving parents the concrete, practical information they need to steady their children through the bumpy yet transformational journey into adulthood.

Dr. Lisa Damour and Reena Ninan co-host the podcast Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting. Dr. Damour is recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association. She writes about adolescents for the New York Times and appears as a regular contributor to CBS News. She is the author of two New York Times best sellers and the soon-to-be-published book, The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents. Reena Ninan is a television journalist who has worked as a White House correspondent, foreign reporter, and news anchor for CBS, ABC, and Fox News. She recently started her own media company, Good Trouble Productions.

Is your student disorganized, forgetful, and easily distracted? Do they have trouble starting tasks, keeping track of papers, or handing in their homework? Students with executive function deficits present unique challenges to parents and teachers. Peg Dawson will help you better understand executive skills within the context of brain development, and how they impact school performance and daily living. Most importantly, she will share strategies to improve these skills in your student.

Dr. Peg Dawson has over 30 years of clinical practice and has worked with thousands of children who struggle at home and at school. She does professional development training on executive skills for schools and organizations nationally and internationally. She is also the co-author of several books for parents and professionals, including Smart but Scattered and Smart but Scattered Teens.

Do you want your parenting life to be a bit easier and more fun? Join ParentWiser and Susan Stiffelman, to hear her research turned into tools that have the power to dramatically improve your parenting life. Stiffelman will illustrate the concept of how our kids need us to be the Captain of the ship in their lives which isn’t about parents’ being in control; it’s about being in charge. You’ll learn how to avoid the power struggles that once seemed inevitable, how to find your cool when you’ve temporarily lost it, and discover how to maintain your confidence even in the midst of those parenting storms. She’ll discuss connection and attachment, how to come alongside your kids rather than at them, and learn how to identify and nurture your children’s unique gifts and talents.

Susan Stiffelman is a marriage and family therapist, a credentialed teacher, and a licensed psychotherapist. For over 30 years, she has worked with families to create greater harmony and deeper connection between parents and children. Susan also delivers weekly parenting advice for the Huffington Post as their “Parent Coach.” She has authored many critically acclaimed books including, Parenting Without Power Struggles Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm, and Connected.

Would you like to know how to help your children realize their potential and thrive? Join us for an evening with Scott Barry Kaufman, renowned humanistic psychologist and cognitive scientist. Using his research, knowledge of the science, and wisdom gained through personal experience, Kaufman will offer insight into how our students can live a more creative, fulfilling, and self-actualized life.

Kaufman has authored multiple books on intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being. His latest book is Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. He is a regular contributor to The Atlantic and Scientific American, and the host of “The Psychology Podcast.” Through his college level courses on these subjects and as a flow and self-actualization coach, he helps people get more engaged in their work and reach their full potential. His ideas can help you and your children pursue these goals.

Is your student making independent, informed choices? Decision making is a skill that needs to be developed and fine-tuned as we mature. Improving conversations will help because they are the building blocks within a family to share ideas, sharpen our edges, build trust, problem-solve, gather information, argue our point, and share our stories. Learn strategies to strengthen family communication and empower youth to make educated choices. Julie Metzger, RN MN is a pediatric nurse, writer, and educator. She is the founder of Great Conversations and has written and presented health curriculums on decision-making and friendships throughout the Pacific NW and Bay Area. Julie’s work has been featured in the New York Times and on the TODAY show.

Do you worry that your students are detached, distracted by, or addicted to their digital devices? Devorah Heitner, PhD is the media expert to turn to for empowering advice on raising resilient and kind kids in our digital age. She advocates for mentoring, not (just) monitoring and better communication across the generations. Dr. Heitner will share strategies around educational vs recreational screen use, how parents can mentor kids on social media, texting and gaming, and give direction on how to keep up with the news without getting overwhelmed.

Devorah Heitner addresses common fears and concerns with research-based, realistic approaches, and a developmentally focused, tech-positive mindset. She is the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World and founder of Raising Digital Natives, a resource for schools and organizations wishing to cultivate a culture of responsible digital citizenship. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple and Time magazine.

Children of all ages are under extraordinary stress in the modern world. From the pressure to succeed to the pushing down of academics to the fast-tracking of childhood, rates of child and adolescent stress, anxiety and depression continue to climb. These trends have accelerated during the pandemic. Come and gain a better understanding of the subtle differences between these conditions. You will learn practical tools to implement at home to manage and decrease levels of stress and anxiety and will be taught how to identify when and how to get help.

Katie Hurley, LCSW, is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting educator, public speaker, and writer. She is the founder of “Girls Can!” empowerment groups for girls between ages 5-11. Hurley is the author of the award-winning No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls, The Depression Workbook for Teens: Tools to Improve Your Mood, Build Self-Esteem, and Stay Motivated, and The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World. Hurley covers mental health, child and adolescent development, and parenting for The Washington Post, PBS Parents, Psychology Today, Everyday Health, PsyCom, and US News and World Report, among other places.

What do you say? William Stixrud, PhD, and Ned Johnson have over 60 years of combined experience talking to kids one-on-one. They know that a healthy sense of control for kids is essential for building motivation. But how do you guide kids while still giving them room to make their own decisions? Come learn how to engage in respectful and effective dialogue, beginning with defining and demonstrating the basic principles of listening and speaking. Learn new ways to handle thorny topics that usually end in parent/kid standoffs like delivering constructive feedback, discussing boundaries and family problem-solving.

Building Resilience and Positive Coping Skills

During a pandemic, when many things are outside of our control, it’s what we do as parents with what we can control that will shape our children into cool, kind kids with character. Join nationally recognized author and speaker Dr. Laura Kastner for a discussion about strategies to help our children, our partners and ourselves find calm in the chaos. Drawing upon research-based best practices from her years of clinical practice and from her best-selling “Getting to Calm” book series, Dr. Kastner will share expert tips and tools to manage the pressures and opportunities of parenting during a crisis.

What does it mean to become an adult? How can parents support them in journey? Julie Lythcott-Haims is returning for a second webinar to share her new book. Julie offers compassion, personal experience, and practical strategies for living a more authentic adulthood, as well as inspiration from individuals who have successfully launched their adult lives. Being an adult is a process - where you become more comfortable with uncertainty and gain the know how to keep going. Invite your high school student to join us and Julie for the opportunity to consider the road ahead.

Do you or your student know how to study effectively? Research reveals that most students do not and that strategies they devise on their own don’t work. Brain science points to some very clear, easy-to-implement, and even motivating strategies that are effective. Gretchen Wegner will condense the complex neuroscience of learning into three simple steps you can apply immediately, and she will share an easy checklist for what to do before each test so you can succeed. Are you ready to upgrade your study skills so you can rock your learning and your grades? Parents and guardians, please invite your middle and high school students to attend with you.

Join us for a discussion with Tori McBride, Behavioral Health Supervisor at Swedish Medical Center and ISD school counselors, after watching The Upstanders from home February 8-10th. An IndieFlix Original Documentary for ages 13+, “The Upstanders explores cyber-bullying, bullying among friends, families, co-workers and the brain science behind it all. The film highlights new laws and programs already reducing bullying in schools and shows us how we can learn to make a difference together to create systemic change.”

How do stress and anxiety operate under everyday conditions and at heightened times of concern and disruption? Come learn from an expert. Dr. Lisa Damour will teach us how to keep pressure and tension from reaching toxic levels and she will coach us on how to support our children in cultivating these skills. We can learn to develop reliable strategies for coping with ongoing tension.

Registration is now open. Open the event and click “Register Here”

Guest Speaker, Mona Delahooke PhD
Are you trying to parent through tantrums and unpredictable behavior? What about aggressiveness? Mona Delahooke, PhD will share neuroscience-based tools and strategies to reduce behavioral challenges and promote psychological resilience and satisfying, secure relationships. Dr. Delahooke will also point out important signals that we should address by seeking to understand a child’s individual differences in the context of relational safety.

Guest Speaker, Julie Lythcott-Haims
Drawing on research, on conversations with educators, admissions officers, and employers and on her own insights as a mother and former student dean at Stanford University, Julie highlights the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large. While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to overhelping, Julie offers practical strategies that underline the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success.

Sharon Saline, Psy.D.

Are you tired of struggling with your child or teen over school, homework or chores? Fostering progress at school means sharpening kids' executive functioning skills such as organization, focus and prioritizing. Veteran psychologist, Dr. Sharon Saline, relies on current research about the developing brain, clinical experience and real-life examples from students themselves to give you a deeper understanding of executive functioning skills and why they're critical to the learning process.

Sharon Saline Psy.D.

In this "new normal," everything seems so complicated. Parents, students and educators are once again navigating the task of balancing online learning with daily routines. In this strange time, you need tips and tools for helping your tween or teen with starting and completing things more than ever. Dr Sharon Saline, veteran psychologist, believes that successfully motivating kids relies on using a strength-based, collaborative approach. When you include young people in creating solutions to daily challenges, you increase their buy-in and their motivation.

How much do your teens know about race and racism? In what ways do our students experience the effects of implicit bias? Does your family want to know how to be an ally? Join Rosetta Lee, local educator, diversity consultant and activist, for this opportunity to learn how to address the complexities of race, racism, privilege, bias and inclusivity. Walk away with increased confidence and tools to help you handle conversations on tough topics. Students in grades 6-12 are encouraged to attend with supervision.

How do we learn about various group identities such as female, African-American or middle class? What messages do children internalize about themselves and others? How can you guide effective conversations with your elementary age child about race, bias, diversity, and inclusivity? Rosetta Lee, a local educator, diversity consultant and activist, will teach us how to instill positive self-identity in our children and coach them to be positive influences on the identities of others. Join us for a presentation and Q&A.

As parents, we must actively make choices about technology for our children. This may seem overwhelming as our dependence on screens has increased during the pandemic and will continue with distance learning arrangements in the fall. While the effects of screen time differ at each point of development, real changes to the brain, relationships, and personal lives are well documented. Join Doreen Dodgen-Magee as she explores these alterations and offers a realistic look at how we can better use technology and break away from the bad habits we’ve formed. Doreen is a psychologist with 25 years of experience who has traveled the globe researching and speaking about the effects of technology. She is the award winning author of Deviced! Balancing Life and Technology in a Digital World.