What is STAND

STAND stands for Supporting Teens’ Autonomy Daily. It is a way of conducting weekly or bi-weekly therapy with parents and teens who struggle with attention, motivation, or organization. Adolescents who have difficulties in these areas are at risk of underperforming at school and having strained relationships with family members.

STAND involves the parent and the teen. Many parents say they want help creating the right structure at home for the teen, maintaining a consistent routine, and helping the adolescent find their own motivation to do their best.

Some parents feel like they help and remind too much, and it gets in the way of the teen’s independence. Other parents think it is too stressful to keep track of the teen’s homework or chores because they have no control over what the teen does anyway. STAND tries to help with both of these dilemmas.

A Teenage Boy With A Hand On His Forehead, Looking Frustrated In Front Of A Chalkboard Filled With Math Equations

How STAND Works 

The therapist does two main things in STAND. They share skills with the parent and teen that have helped past families feel more in balance. They also use a technique called Motivational Interviewing to help parents and teens figure out what is important to them and what kind of family member they want to be.

STAND emphasizes the importance of being realistic. Parents often work late, teens have after-school activities, and technology is distracting for teens but necessary for daily life. STAND is all about helping families figure out the best-case scenario. It’s about helping teens become more independent and responsible and parents feel less stressed, more in control, and balanced as parents.

 

What STAND DOES FOR YOU AND YOUR TEEN

STAND seeks to be an accessible approach that helps parents and teens understand how the brain influences behaviour (why teens have trouble paying attention or controlling impulses) and what steps they must take to find success.  STAND’s integrated approach frames treatment for any adolescent with significant impairments in attention, EF (Executive Functioning), or motivation domains – regardless of clinical diagnosis.

  1. Develop compensatory skills
  2. Identify environments that maximize the presence and frequency of salient natural rewards
  3. Create an age-appropriate continency structure by contracting with the parents to overcome short-term motivation problems
  4. Support parents in practicing consistent implementation of adaptive parenting skills
  5. Use Motivational Interviewing to increase the perceived value of natural rewards in the teen’s environment and enhance teen self-efficacy for achieving success (long-term improvement in motivation).
  6. Use Motivational Interviewing to increase the parents’ perceived value of making parenting changes and to enhance parents’ self-efficacy for influencing teen behaviour (long-term maintenance of parenting practices).

Sessions 

The STAND program is broken down into at least eight one-hour or ninety-minute sessions, and homework is assigned to the teen and parent.  Homework assigned includes the following modules. Usually, three modules are assigned between session work, and the modules are discussed at the next session.  If the teen/parent has difficulty finishing the module, extra time or sessions are arranged.