“Champions in Life! A Playbook for Teens and their Parents with 10 Essential Skills to Optimize Mental Health”: New Book Impacts the Teen Mental Health Crisis
Dr. Brzycki says, “Through our clinical practice and research we have learned that parents are demanding more emotional supports for their teens, and teens are demanding more skills to be able to live the life of their dreams.”
Examples of advance praise for “Champions in Life!” are: “This is a guidebook with exercises to help you really get to know yourself down deep inside and to help you grow and change. It is a book about your life.” “This work is invaluable.”
An adolescent says, “Without knowing my goals or achievements I had no idea where I was going or where I had been. It caused me to have a serious lack of identity. I felt like I was standing on the side of the road watching everyone else pass me by. The Brzyckis showed me that if you think life just happens to you, it actually ends up passing you by. You truly have to go out and make it your own.”
A parent says, “I have used the Champions principles to change my entire family culture for the better!”
In their new book, the Brzyckis’ take the adolescent development course exercises and lessons that Elaine developed while studying with pioneering developmental psychologist Carol Gilligan at Harvard University and make it self-directed for teens and their parents and caregivers.
With the current teen mental health crisis, the Brzyckis realized that they can channel the effectiveness of their clinical practices into a book that helps this generation of teens, and hopefully future generations.
Teens do not yet have a framework and mental model of understanding their own mental health and well-being to be able to express what is going on—on the inside. Parents and caregivers can ensure that their children are equipped with the latest best practices for prevention, and not wait until treatment is necessary.
According to a recent study by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, parents think they are offering emotional support during critical teen years, but teens disagree. Therefore, teens are suffering in silence with nowhere to turn.
This self-guided book helps teens share more meaningful experiences with their parents and caregivers to prevent mental illness and create happy, healthy and flourishing lives.
The book builds a foundation of resilience for teens throughout their schooling years for lifelong well-being.
The dominance of screen time in everyone’s life has contributed to “dissociation,” a clinical term meaning that people are more separated from themselves. Their sense of Self is “disintegrated.” An example of a best practice is to teach teens how to integrate their Self and heal any dissociation.
Additionally, in today’s world, teens often feel existential anxiety and depression that covers their day-to-day experiences like a blanket, keeping them from fully experiencing the joy, happiness and love that is available through their relationships and daily experiences.
Dr. Brzycki says, “Adolescents want to gain competencies that are relevant to them and their future success. They want to learn for themselves what mental health and well-being look like, to understand their own emotions, what being happy feels like, and what makes them happy. They want to know how to assess and impact all the dimensions of their own health, mind, body and spirit, and they want to achieve and maintain high levels of well-being in school and life.”
Studies find that 75% of success in life is due to non-cognitive factors such as motivation, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and passion for pursuing an area of interest. Schools are not doing enough to impart these competencies. Students and their families benefit from real-world tools that proactively teach them how to envision and pursue a happy, healthy and flourishing life.
Mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. It is the ability to flourish. But a flourishing life doesn’t just happen. Parents, caregivers and families can join with educators, counselors, educators and school administrators to proactively teach teens critical skills such as self-agency, resilience, hope, a sense of purpose, an ability to experience both positive and negative emotions and many more.
The Brzyckis have identified more than 40 distinctions of a healthy self that can be taught to young people in order to impart resilience and well-being.
Happy, healthy and flourishing children do not do harm to themselves or others. Parents and teachers can incorporate the attributes of a healthy self into everyday activities to teach self-awareness and strengthen young people’s well-being. Middle and high school young people can thereby build skills that protect them from the stressors of modern life.
The book helps teens and their families learn to prioritize mental health and well-being.
Elaine Brzycki says, “ ‘Champions in Life!’ helps youth aged 10-18 learn protective mental health and well-being competencies such as emotional awareness, self-esteem, resilience, internal motivation, self-understanding and life purpose. Our book gives adolescents the support they need to dream big dreams.”
The Brzyckis indicate that their new book is relevant for teens, parents, caregivers, counselors and medical professionals. The book, coming in 2025, can be pre-ordered at brzyckigroup.com.
Elaine J. Brzycki, Ed.M., and Henry G. Brzycki, Ph.D., are psychologists and educators with expertise in applying positive psychology to human development, child and adolescent development, and educational and learning processes. Utilized in over 50 countries, their work has led to a new world-wide consciousness about the importance of self-knowledge and placing mental health and well-being at the center of a good and successful life. They have authored five bestselling books and numerous articles, and they offer one-on-one workshops for teens and parents.
Elaine J. Brzycki, Ed.M.
The Brzycki Group & The Center for the Self in Schools
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CBS-WTAJ-TV Interview with Dr. Henry G. Brzycki and Elaine J. Brzycki