WHY THIS GROUP EXISTS

Parenting a teenager can be demanding under the best of circumstances. When a young person is engaging in life-threatening or self-destructive behaviors, caregivers find themselves overwhelmed and uncertain about what to do. Many parents describe feeling exhausted, isolated, or burnt out. Traditional approaches such as medication or therapy often fall short on their own, leaving caregivers unsure of how to respond or where to turn for help.

The Middle Path Family Group was created for parents and caregivers facing exactly these struggles. The program is grounded in the principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), an evidence-based treatment for adolescents with emotional dysregulation and high-risk behaviors. DBT-A (Adolescent DBT) has been shown to reduce self-harm, suicidal behaviors, and emotional distress when other treatments have failed. A key component of DBT-A is family involvement and parents are included in skills training and family sessions.

Parents play a critical role in recovery from a range of conditions. Programs like SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) have shown to have benefits in helping youth to recover from anxiety and substance use. These programs focus on supporting caregivers and providing skills that will help them to help the young people they care for. The Middle Path Family Group provides a similar set of strategies and support for caregivers of emotionally dysregulated youth.

Getting help for a young person is rarely straightforward. Barriers may come from the youth themselves, who may lack motivation or skills to change; from the long and difficult recovery process; or from a system that struggles to provide timely and effective care. In the meantime, parents are left to manage crises, support their teen, and try to hold their family together. In the Middle Path Group caregivers will meet other people facing similar dilemmas. Additionally, they learn how to approach the complex problems that emerge in the families of young people experiencing extreme emotional problems.