Parenting Post-Wilderness: Parenting a Struggling Teen Before, During and After Treatment

Recently, we lost a dear friend to suicide. One of my son’s best friends, who had become a part of our family. This is a tender and deeply personal conversation in which Seth and I talk about the loss of a young man who mattered deeply to our family, and what witnessing his death taught me about struggling teens, their ‘yellow’ or ‘red friends’, pain, and connection.
This is not an easy conversation. There are tears. There is grief. And there is also something profoundly important here for parents of struggling teens. What I witnessed in the aftermath of this loss changed me. It expanded my understanding of how much we miss when we focus only on behavior, substance use, or “bad choices,” without seeing the pain and connection underneath.
As parents, it’s natural to lock in on what scares us most: the drugs, the risk-taking, the behaviors that feel dangerous or out of control. But when we do that, we often miss the deeper story. We miss the love these kids have for one another. We miss the ways they show up for each other. And sometimes, we miss opportunities to be part of what keeps them alive.
This episode is an invitation to slow down, soften your lens, and look beyond behavior. It’s a reminder that healing happens in relationships, and that connection, empathy, and support matter more than we often realize.
In this episode, we discuss:
What I witnessed after someone close to my family died by suicide, and how it changed me;
Why focusing only on behavior can blind us to what our teens are really experiencing;
The powerful sense of connection and care teens often have for one another;
How substance use can mask deeper pain, grief, and unmet needs;
What it looks like to see teens, and their friends, as whole humans, not just problems to fix.

Looking for support?
🗺️Need help setting healthy boundaries with your teen AND following through? My free guide will help you do so by creating your own Parent Home Plan!
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.

Have a question or need support? You can email me at [email protected]

You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
Subscribing to the show

And remember parents, the change begins with us.

Learning to let go is one of the hardest but most necessary parts of parenting a struggling teen, especially when your child’s behaviors feel frightening, confusing, and completely out of your control.
In this episode, I’m joined again by Michelle, a mom who has walked a long, painful, and ultimately transformative path with her daughter, who was later diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Together, we talk honestly about what it looks like to parent through intense fear, misdiagnosis, shame, and the overwhelming urge to control in order to keep your child alive.
Michelle shares what it was like before she understood her daughter’s mental health struggles, when substance use, self-harm, and suicidality felt like “bad choices” instead of symptoms, and how that misunderstanding led to extreme lockdowns that, in hindsight, caused more harm than healing. She also opens up about the guilt that followed, and how she learned to meet herself with compassion instead of self-blame.
This is a deep conversation about parenting a struggling teen when fear drives your decisions, and how letting go doesn’t mean giving up. Instead, it means changing how you show up. Michelle reflects on learning new ways to communicate, recognizing when “help” is actually invalidating, and managing the anxiety that comes with giving your teen or young adult more independence.
If you’ve ever felt consumed by fear around your struggling teen’s behavior, obsessed with keeping your child safe, or unsure where your responsibility ends and theirs begins, this episode is for you.
In this episode on learning to let go, we discuss:
What it feels like to parent before you understand your child’s mental health diagnosis;
How fear can lead to control, and why control often backfires;
Letting go of the belief that you can save your teen’s life;
The difference between supporting your child and managing your own anxiety;
How certain “helpful” behaviors (like constant checking or cheerleading) can be invalidating;
Practical tools for responding to fear without letting it run the show;
Learning new ways to communicate that build trust and self-advocacy in your teen or young adult child;
Redefining your role as your teen becomes a young adult;
And more!

Looking for support?
🗺️Need help setting healthy boundaries with your teen AND following through? My free guide will help you do so by creating your own Parent Home Plan!
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.

Have a question or need support? You can email me at [email protected]

You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
Subscribing to the show

And remember parents, the change begins with us.

✨ 6-week Boundaries Masterclass ✨
Starting January 13th -- Early Bird price until December 31st!
👉🏼 Click here to sign up, or go to bethhillmancoaching.com/boundariesmasterclass
I hope to see you there!

There’s a kind of grief many parents of struggling teens carry that doesn’t always get named.
It’s not just the fear.
It’s not just the exhaustion.
It’s the quiet heartbreak of realizing that the life you once imagined for your child may never unfold the way you thought it would.
In this episode, I’m joined by Paul King, a father with lived experience navigating teen substance abuse and relapse. Paul shares his family’s story from the early warning signs, to trauma, to years of substance use, treatment, and relapse. Together, we talk about anticipatory grief, the ongoing grief parents live with when their child is still alive, still struggling, and still at risk.
We also explore why relapse is part of recovery, why trying to “fix” or control our kids can leave parents burned out and hopeless, and how learning to separate your child from their behavior can change everything. This is a conversation about grief, love, boundaries, and learning how to cope when the path forward looks nothing like what you expected.
If you’re parenting a child impacted by teen substance abuse, you’re not alone—and you’re not doing it wrong.
In this episode on teen substance abuse and relapse, we discuss:
Paul’s story as a dad living with his daughter’s substance abuse;
What anticipatory grief is and why so many parents experience it;
Grieving the life you thought your child would have;
Why relapse is common, and why it doesn’t mean treatment “failed”;
Why “rock bottom” isn’t necessary for recovery;
How boundaries and self-care as a parent actually support your teen’s healing;
What coping can look like when your child continues to struggle;
And much more.

More about Paul King
Paul is a calm, kind communicator studying a Diploma of Counselling. Across his working life he has chosen people‑centred roles: running his own homeopathy clinic, supporting students and community members in education, producing stories with care in media and training, and now hosting a podcast and volunteering on the Family Drug Support helpline.
Learn more about Paul’s work on https://familyhopesupport.com/ or listen to his podcast ‘Family Support In Addiction Recovery’.

Looking for support?
🗺️Need help setting healthy boundaries with your teen AND following through? My free guide will help you do so by creating your own Parent Home Plan!
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.

Have a question or need support? You can email me at [email protected]

You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
Subscribing to the show

And remember parents, the change begins with us.

✨ 6-week Boundaries Masterclass ✨
Starting January 13th -- Early Bird price until December 31st!
👉🏼 Click here to sign up, or go to bethhillmancoaching.com/boundariesmasterclass
I hope to see you there!

When your kid keeps struggling and nothing seems to change, it’s natural to focus all your energy on them. Their choices. Their behavior. Their refusal to do things differently. But have you ever tried looking at your own part? Because even though it might feel unfair, change in families often starts with the parents.
In this episode, Seth and I talk about what happens when families feel stuck in repeating patterns with your teen, even maybe after therapy, treatment, boundaries, and countless conversations. We explore why change rarely comes from doing more of the same, and why the most meaningful shifts often begin in places parents aren’t taught to look: their reactions, beliefs, and sense of safety in the home.
We unpack the difference between supporting and rescuing, structure and control, belief and fear. And we talk honestly about the discomfort parents face when they start asking themselves, “What is my part in this dynamic?”, especially when their teen is the one making risky or painful choices.
This episode is not about blaming parents or letting teens off the hook. It’s about understanding how family dynamics shape behavior, why repeating cycles persist, and how parents can become the catalyst for change, without lecturing, rescuing, or giving up.
In this episode on what to do when you feel stuck in repeating patterns with your teen or young adult, we discuss:
How fear, control, and rescue can unintentionally keep cycles going;
What it really means for parents to “look at their part”, and why it’s so hard;
The messages teens receive from you about safety, capability, and trust;
Why change in families often starts with parents, even when it feels unfair;
How shifting beliefs creates space for real change in your family;
And more!

Looking for support?
🗺️Need help setting healthy boundaries with your teen AND following through? My free guide will help you do so by creating your own Parent Home Plan!
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.

Have a question or need support? You can email me at [email protected]

You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
Subscribing to the show

And remember parents, the change begins with us.

✨ 6-week Boundaries Masterclass ✨
Starting January 13th -- Early Bird price until December 31st!
👉🏼 Click here to sign up, or go to bethhillmancoaching.com/boundariesmasterclass
I hope to see you there!

If you’re parenting a teen with a mental health condition, like borderline personality disorder, you may recognize the constant confusion: Is this normal? Am I helping, or making it worse? Why does nothing seem to work?
In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Park, a mom who courageously shares her family’s long and winding journey of parenting a teen with borderline personality disorder. Michelle takes us all the way back to early childhood, through misdiagnoses, masking, suicide attempts, and multiple levels of care, and into the crucial shifts that ultimately helped her daughter and family heal.
What makes this conversation so powerful isn’t just the treatment story. It’s the parenting transformation Michelle had to make along the way. She opens up about letting go of fixing, silver-lining, and minimizing pain and learning instead how to validate emotions, sit with discomfort, and radically accept her daughter for who she is.
This episode is honest, emotional, and hopeful. It’s for those of you who are exhausted, scared, and wondering whether change is even possible, both for your teen and for yourself.
In this episode on parenting a teen with borderline personality disorder, we discuss:
Michelle’s journey through early signs of emotional dysregulation in her daughter and how they’re often missed;
The impact of misdiagnosis, masking, and “whack-a-mole” treatment;
What borderline personality disorder can look like in teens and young adults;
Why validation (not fixing) became the turning point in Michelle’s parenting;
How long-term treatment supported real, lasting change for Michelle’s family;
The important role parents play in recovery, and why family work matters so much;
Letting go of expectations and redefining success for your struggling teen;
Finding hope, support, and community as a parent of a child with a mental health condition.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
NEABPD (National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder)

Looking for support?
🗺️Need help setting healthy boundaries with your teen AND following through? My free guide will help you do so by creating your own Parent Home Plan!
🤍Influence lasting change in yourself and your struggling teen with my private coaching or parent group program specifically created for parents of struggling teens.

Have a question or need support? You can email me at [email protected]

You can support the show by:
Leaving a review
Subscribing to the show

And remember parents, the change begins with us.