Learning from and Supporting Our Teens in a Racial Justice Movement (Part 2 with Jenni Wiech LICSW)

07/30/20 • 30 min

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This is Part 2 in our special series for parents of Teens in this epic time of change where we are facing both a global pandemic and a burgeoning racial justice movement. To provide insight, perspective and guidance so we can both maintain our own healthy boundaries and support our teens developmental needs and unique life challenges I’ve invited my colleague Jenni Wiech LICSW-a psychotherapist who has been working with teens and their parents for over a decade.
Here's a peak at what we discussed:

How to support the strong desire in many of our teens to be activists while keeping them safe in a pandemic.
How we can keep our eyes and minds open while we ride the steep learning curve we are on as parents as many of us are working to educate ourselves and keep pace with the awarenesses many of our kids already have around racism, and inequality and the effect of implicit racial bias and white privilege on people of color.
How to help our kids respond to the complexities of activism in the world of social media, where they may be finding themselves being called out, criticized and sometimes bullied by peers whether they speak out against racism or stay silent.

Jenni Wiech specializes in family systems theory and teaches practices for healthy attachment and healing trauma. She works through a mindfulness based approach called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) that helps people to develop skills for self-awareness, emotional regulation, effective communication and healthy boundaries.

Show Notes:
The book Jenni Mentioned:
Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Kids in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey

To learn about Jenni's Parenting and Teen Workshops
To contact Jenni by email: [email protected]

To learn more about your host Penny Rosenzweig

To learn more about our practitioners and Roots and Wings Healing Arts

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How to support the strong desire in many of our teens to be activists while keeping them safe in a pandemic.
How we can keep our eyes and minds open while we ride the steep learning curve we are on as parents as many of us are working to educate ourselves and keep pace with the awarenesses many of our kids already have around racism, and inequality and the effect of implicit racial bias and white privilege on people of color.
How to help our kids respond to the complexities of activism in the world of social media, where they may be finding themselves being called out, criticized and sometimes bullied by peers whether they speak out against racism or stay silent.

Show Notes:
The book Jenni Mentioned:
Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Kids in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey

To learn about Jenni's Parenting and Teen Workshops
To contact Jenni by email: [email protected]

To learn more about your host Penny Rosenzweig

To learn more about our practitioners and Roots and Wings Healing Arts

Previous Episode

Parents Pushed to the Edge: Negotiating Healthy Boundaries with Teens During A Time of Pandemic (Part 1)

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It’s challenging enough to be a parent of a teenager-but to be a parent of teen during a Pandemic can take us to the edge and push boundaries we never even imagined we’d have to have!

To provide us with insight, perspective and guidance so we can both maintain our own healthy boundaries and support our teens developmental needs and unique life challenges during this time-I’ve invited my colleague Jenni Wiech-a social worker and psychotherapist who has been working with teens and their parents for over a decade.

Jenni specializes in family systems theory and teaches practices for healthy attachment and healing trauma. She works through a mindfulness based approach called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) that helps people to develop skills for self-awareness, emotional regulation, effective communication and healthy boundaries.
Here's a peak at a few things we talked about:

Understanding and making space for grief-in ourselves and in our teens for the loss of traditional ways of celebrating and experiencing significant life events (graduation, moving up ceremonies, awards ceremonies), delayed or interrupted college life and more...
Effective ways of dealing with pushback, anger and defiance around social distancing guidelines.
How to stop fighting and work compassionately with our teens to find solutions for socializing that meets the safety needs of the entire family.
Simple strategies for helping our teens (and ourselves) manage anxiety, stress and panic attacks.

This will be a 2 part series focused on parenting teens! Our next episode in two weeks is Part 2 which will be focused on issues parents and teens are facing related to the ongoing protests and the burgeoning racial justice movement we are living through.

To learn about Jenni's Parenting and Teen Workshops
To contact Jenni by email: [email protected]

To learn more about your host Penny Rosenzweig

To learn more about our practitioners and Roots and Wings Healing Arts

Next Episode

undefined - Toward Healing Racism: Exploring, Owning and De-Shaming Unconscious Racial Bias and How White people Can Show their Care to re-build Trust Across the Racial Divide

Toward Healing Racism: Exploring, Owning and De-Shaming Unconscious Racial Bias and How White people Can Show their Care to re-build Trust Across the Racial Divide

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There is a call for ally-ship in transforming racism in our world right now, that is deep, loud, and finally being heard in the white community.

However, many White people are hesitating to take action, uncertain about the most effective and conscious ways to step up, speak out, and take thoughtful action to help end centuries of injustice, oppression, and violence.

Often, in conversations about racism we remain silent because we're afraid of:
Saying something that might reveal our unconscious biases.
Afraid of getting caught not knowing what we don’t know.
Afraid of offending our friends and colleagues of color.
Afraid of offending our White friends and family by challenging racist comments out for fear of losing these relationships and breaking white solidarity.

To help guide us through these challenges so we can show up as true allies — and actively participate in a global transformation who's time as come — is my guest
Kimberlee Williams, a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant and coach.

Here Are Some Key Things We Discussed:

Understanding what white supremacy IS and what it's NOT. (Hint: it's not a "White" problem but -something that implicitly lives in everyone (regardless of race) who lives in a White-centric culture.
Becoming aware of our own implicit racial bias, getting over the need to be "perfect" and learning why it's inevitable that White people will inadvertently say things to offend People of Color.
3 simple and essential steps White people can take when this happens to step out of shame and defensiveness and use these uncomfortable moments as opportunities to re-build trust and forge deeper connections with Black people/People of Color.
Learning how we interpret what it means to "care" very differently according to our cultural norms and how knowing and responding compassionately to these differences is an essential to re-building trust across the racial divide.

Episode Notes:

Kimberlee's Website: Engaging Across Difference
Contact Kimberlee at [email protected]
Books Kimberlee mentioned:
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Manakem

To learn more about your host Penny Rosenzweig

To learn more about our practitioners and Roots and Wings Healing Arts