BOLD Engagement with Teens Series

Having meaningful social-emotional and mental health conversations with adolescents can sometimes feel like an "adversarial sport," especially when teens arrive at treatment (or school) mandated, ambivalent, or highly emotionally dysregulated. Too often, even after treatment (individual, IOP, short-term hospitalization), youth fall into "apparent competence"—appearing fine until a minor setback triggers a major crisis—or "active passivity," feeling too overwhelmed to take action.

This series has been developed to help clinicians, school counselors, parents and other youth workers surround teens with support based on our BOLD Living Skills.

This curriculum seamlessly integrates Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with the youth-adapted Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) framework known as the DNA-V model (Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor, Valuer). Rather than treating symptoms in isolation, this training equips adults with concrete tools to help teens step out of avoidance and build a vital, values-driven life.