Many therapists and counselors have encountered teens who demonstrate disrespectful behavior toward their parents. These teens often start individual therapy in order to learn anger management skills or coping mechanisms for their frustration. Many of these teens are not interested in learning new skills, as they like things as they are. They can often control the family dynamic by exploiting their parents’ guilt about the fact they are unhappy or their parents' anxiety about making things worse.



In this two-hour continuing education web conference, Dr. Janet Sasson Edgette will discuss how a more effective way to change the dynamic between disrespectful teens and their parents may be to meet with the parents and the teens together. In this setting, clinicians can encourage the positive and rather paradoxical reaction of teenagers toward adults who choose to hold them accountable for their actions. 



Dr. Sasson Edgette will address the cultural pressure to label bad behavior among teenagers as typical teenage behavior. Dr. Sasson Edgette will also address ways in which parents may inadvertently contribute to their teen's behavior, such as by being disrespectful to their child themselves. 



This introductory instructional level web conference is designed to help clinicians:




  1. Utilize strategies for debunking mythology surrounding adolescence when meeting with parents so they do not use “teenage angst” or “typical teen behavior” as an excuse for their teen's negative behavior.

  2. Explain how parents can become less reactive to their teenager’s behavior in ways that constructively change the parent-teen dynamic.

  3. Instruct parents on how they can employ consequences that are effective in changing their teen’s behavior without engaging in control battles.

  4. Explain how parents can see their own contribution to the problems they may be having with their teenager without the parent becoming defensive.

  5. Assist parents in identifying their blind spots (for example, times when their own guilt or their teenager’s manipulations are compromising their better judgment).



If you have questions about this web conference, please contact us here.


How the Web Conference Works

Before the scheduled event, all registered attendees will be sent a reminder email from GoodTherapy with specific instructions on how to log in to the web conference center, as well as links to optional handout materials if applicable. 



To attend the event, registered attendees will log in to the web conference center using a computer or device (smartphone or tablet with internet access) and calling in to the teleconference line on a phone. Attendees will be able to ask live audio questions via phone and/or submit text chat questions via their computer or device. Attendees who are logged in to the event center will be able to see live streaming video and/or document sharing. Alternatively, attendees may dial in to the teleconference line only, though attendees dialing in by phone only will be unable to ask questions. 



At the conclusion of this event, participants will receive an email with information about how to request a CE certificate in the GoodTherapy Member's Area. To confirm attendance, participants must enter the start and end codes announced at the beginning and end of the live presentation. Participants will also be prompted to complete an online survey evaluating the event. Participants will need to complete this online survey within six days after the event. Once completed, participants will be able to download a copy of their CE certificate instantly. 



For additional information about this event or our CE grievance procedures, please contact us here


Continuing Education (CE) Information

2 CE contact hours will be provided by GoodTherapy for attending this web conference in its entirety. 

GoodTherapy is an Approved Education Provider by NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals (provider #135463). Of the eight counselor skill groups ascribed to by NAADAC, this course is classified within Counseling Services. 

GoodTherapy is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements.

GoodTherapy.org, provider #1352, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 3/30/2022 – 3/30/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 2 continuing education credits.

GoodTherapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy maintains responsibility for this program and its content. GoodTherapy.org received APA approval in May 2011. Events after 2011 may meet APA requirements for Continuing Education credits.

GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0395

GoodTherapy, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0022 and for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0031.

Registration Information

Premium and Pro Membership with GoodTherapy includes access to this web conference at no additional cost. Not yet a member? Sign up for a Premium or Pro Membership, here.

Mental health professionals who are not members can attend this live web conference for $30.95 or access the homestudy recording for $15.50. Sign up here to purchase this CE course and earn a CE certificate.

Event Reviews from Members

Meet the Presenter

Janet Sasson Edgette, PsyD, LLC

Dr. Janet Sasson Edgette is a clinical psychologist with 30 years of experience providing evaluation, counseling, and coaching services to children, preteens, teenagers, young adults, and their parents. She is recognized nationally for developing an innovative and effective therapeutic approach for reaching kids and teens who are turned off by the idea of counseling, do not believe they need it, or have had negative therapy experiences in the past. As a result, Dr. Edgette has been invited to teach professional workshops and educational programs for psychiatrists, psychologists, school counselors, social workers, therapists, probation officers, caseworkers, school administrators, teachers, parents, and foster parents throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Russia, Germany, and Croatia.



In addition, Dr. Edgette is a Clinical Trainer at T.W. Ponessa & Associates in Lancaster, PA, where for the past several years she has provided clinical training on child, adolescent, and family therapy to mental health counselors, mobile therapists, and behavior therapists. Since 2015, Dr. Edgette has been as adjunct faculty member at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, PA, teaching in their Graduate Program in Psychology.



In addition to clinical work and teaching, Dr. Sasson Edgette has written six books and dozens of articles in the areas of parenting, counseling, boys, masculinity and gender norms, and sport psychology. They include the popular parenting paperback, Stop Negotiating with Your Teen: Strategies for Parenting Your Angry, Manipulative, Moody, or Depressed Adolescent, and a critically-acclaimed book for mental health professionals entitled, Adolescent Therapy That Works: Helping Kids Who Never Asked for Help in the First Place. Her most recent book, The Last Boys Picked: Helping Boys Who Don’t Play Sports Survive Bullies and Boyhood, has been labeled by Parents magazine a “must read” and “a wowing and enlightening guide for any parent.”



Dr. Sasson Edgette received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA in 1987 and a masters in public health from the University of Oklahoma in 1979. She is a native New Yorker, and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Union College in Schenectady, NY. 



You can learn more about Dr. Sasson Edgette and her work at www.janetedgette.com.



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