Renowned psychotherapist to give free talk on parenting teenagers with anxiety in Carrick-on-Suir

A renowned psychotherapist specialising in adolescents will give a talk on parenting anxious teenagers at Comeragh College in Carrick-on-Suir on Wednesday, November 15 at 7pm.

The home school liaison teachers in Carrick-on-Suir’s three secondary schools – Scoil Mhuire, Edmund Rice and Comeragh College – are involved in organising Bronagh Starrs’ talk for parents. It’s free of charge .

This talk is being organised as parenting has become incredibly complex and an increasingly common problem among teenagers is anxiety, which has reached almost epidemic proportions.

These young people are struggling to attend school and navigate peer friendships. They exhibit all manner of anxiety symptoms including panic attacks, OCD, rigid eating and exercise patterns, over thinking and dreading the future.

They sometimes place unbelievably high expectations on themselves and, as a result, live with tremendous pressure. The stress creates a body response as many also endure such symptoms as gastrointestinal tract issues, skin disorders, stress headaches etc.

Intuitive parenting skills and breathing techniques may help momentarily. However, they typically don’t resolve the underlying problem of how to address the negativity, self-doubt and feelings of not being good enough.

This evening talk by Bronagh Starrs will help parents gain an indepth understanding of the dynamics of anxious presentation in adolescence, illuminating the mindset of the anxious teenager. Effective parenting strategies will be presented.

Ms Starrs is Programme Director for the MSc in Adolescent Psychotherapy in Dublin Counselling & Therapy Centre in partnership with the University of Northampton.

She is also founder and director of Blackfort Adolescent Gestalt Institute and runs a private practice in Omagh in county Tyrone as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, writer and trainer, specialising in working with adolescents, young adults and their families.

Ms Starrs is an adolescent development specialist and has considerable experience as a trainer in adolescent development and therapy throughout Ireland.

She also teaches and presents internationally on the developmental implication of trauma on the adolescent journey.

Her first publication Adolescent Psychotherapy - A Radical Relational Approach (Routledge, London) has received international acclaim. Her second book is due to be published in December.