I have a special interest in working with emerging adults as they discover their own unique pathway to independence.
I have spent more than twenty years providing direct services to young people as they navigate the path from adolescence to young adulthood. I have talked with them in college settings, residential settings, community mental health settings, and recreational settings. My work with the emerging adult population has included:
- Individual and family therapy
- Crisis intervention
- Psychological evaluation
- Parent workshops
- Mentor work with first generation college students
- Clinical program design
- Staff training, development and supervision
It is hard to be a young adult, and it is hard to be the parents of a young adult. So often I hear phrases like “failure to launch” or “not living up to her potential” or words like “immature” and “stuck.” I do not often hear words like “curiosity” and “exploration,” or phrases like “failing well” or “trying things out.”
Young adults tell me they feel “behind” and “embarrassed” and they share a relentless bombardment of “shoulds.” So often they are immobilized by pressure, unrealistic expectations, and feelings of vulnerability.
Parents tell me they are “frustrated” and “confused” and they share a relentless struggle to figure out “what went wrong.”
Embedded in the language we use are our unconscious attitudes and expectations, and the way we talk about the transition from adolescence to adulthood so often sets emerging adults (and their parents) up for feelings of failure, shame, guilt, blame, anger.
To really help the emerging adults who come to me (and their parents,) I also need to help change the way we think and talk about this stage of development.
I am invested in having a broader impact on key issues and prevailing beliefs about emerging adulthood.
My efforts are reflected in commitments like:
- Teaching future psychologists as an Adjunct Faculty at Springfield College
- Membership and participation with the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood
- Creating focus groups for parents of emerging adults
- Writing about related topics. For example Hartford Courant Op-Ed
Why are you using the term “emerging adults?”
Language matters, and the phrase “emerging adult” better reflects what is happening at this stage of development than the phrase “young adult.” Psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, PhD, began using the term after interviewing hundreds of people ages 18 to 29. Consistently, he heard individuals describe feeling “in between.” You can learn more about emerging adulthood and Dr. Arnett’s important work here:
https://www.unh.edu/pacs/emerging-adulthood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_f8DmU-gQQ
http://www.jeffreyarnett.com/ARNETT_Emerging_Adulthood_theory.pdf
Please do not hesitate to contact me to get recommendations for your next steps.