Breaking the Adolescent Code: Tools to Empower Parents with Children of All Ages

Breaking the Adolescent Code is a book designed to make it easy and fun to add to your parenting 'tool chest'. Dr. Duggan has been successfully working with children, adolescents, and families for over 25 years. This book is a synthesis of the ideas he has been presenting in his private practice as well as in countless presentations he has given over the years. Dr. Duggan believes that being a parent is the most important and rewarding responsibility you will ever experience. While challenging, it should also be enjoyable for you and fun for your children and adolescents. Dr. Duggan believes it is not the amount of communicating you do with your child, it is the quality of that communicating which builds a strong family. While the title specifically identifies adolescents, the ideas in the book are useful with children of any ages. Breaking the Adolescent Code delivers 33 succinct ideas/tools that you can put to work immediately. Dr. Duggan does not believe in psychobabble and so the ideas are written so that any lay person can understand both the concept being outlined as well as the ways to implement it. The book is full of real life examples from the annuls of Dr. Duggan's experience which bring each idea to life with real world examples. The book is remarkably easy to read as the tools are broken down into 3 foundational ideas which are useful for all parents. They are followed by: Ten Truths Parents Should Know Ten Things Parents Should Do Ten Traps Parents Should Avoid For instance, under the Ten Things Parents Should Know you can read about “Understanding Your Power (Your Reactions And What They Mean)”, which gives you a good idea how to shape your responses to have the greatest impact. Or you can read the chapter “Frames Are Everything”, which outlines one of the most powerful tools a parent can employ to change the behavior of their child or adolescent (this works extremely well with adults as well). If you flip to the Ten Things Parents Should Do section you will find chapters such as 'Making Adolescents Responsible For Their Own Behavior'. In this chapter a number of ideas are described including one of the most powerful in the book, the use of Pendulum Rewards and Consequences. The chapters 'Have Fun' which describes the chapter perfectly and 'Be A Leader' also fall in this section of the book. Lastly in the Ten Traps Parents Should Avoid section you can read chapters like 'How To Raise A Teenzilla' which is a tongue-in-cheek, hilarious chapter describing some behaviors that parents engage in which are meant to help their child but just make the adolescent even more outrageous. Another chapter in the Traps section is 'Loving Your Child Into A Handicap', where we are introduced to Marshmallow Mom and Popsicle Dad, both parents you are better off avoiding. Lastly in this section you can also read the chapter 'Stop Talking To Your Adolescent' which empowers parents to act more and talk less to help their child/adolescent. As you can see each chapter is an idea and examples on its own. Therefore the book can be treated like a smorgasbord where you pick and choose which tools to read about and which to employ. The consistent theme throughout the book is that each of the tools is clearly outlined, explained via real life examples, and you can employ them today in your parenting style. If you have any other questions please feel free to peruse the table of contents, and above all, enjoy the book and raising your kids. Dr. Duggan loves to hear feedback and can be reached at his website www.drdugganandassociates.com.

Dr. Duggan is the Director of Dr. Duggan & Associates.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1981.  Following graduation he attended the State University of New York at Buffalo where he received his Masters degree in 1984 and his Doctorate in 1987. During these years he developed a specialty in the treatment of children, adolescents and families.  He completed his internship at the Los Angles County/University of Southern California Medical Center.  Upon completion of his internship he accepted a position at Memorial Medical Center of Long Beach. From 1987–1991 Dr. Duggan was steadily promoted until he became the Clinical Supervisor over all the Adolescent and Adult Chemical Dependency and Psychiatric Units at Memorial Medical Center. In 1991, he opened Dr. Duggan & Associates.  The group has grown from an individual practice to its current size of nine therapists and an office manager.  Dr. Duggan & Associates is grateful for the support we have received from the community, area physicians, and schools. We have tried to live up to this support by providing the very best services available to all of our patients. Staying abreast of the latest research and helping people use these breakthroughs is an essential part of our commitment. Dr. Duggan is known as having a specialty in the diagnosis and treatment of children, adolescents and families. However, with 9 therapists, Dr. Duggan & Associates provides service to the entire spectrum of ages and issues. Dr. Duggan has also been involved in politics over the years.  In 1994 he was elected to the Los Alamitos Board of Education and was selected to be President of the Board in 1997.  In 1998 he was honored to have been chosen Man of the Year in Seal Beach, California. Dr. Duggan is a sought-after public speaker who routinely is asked to speak to parent groups. He has written numerous articles for local papers and has appeared on both local and national television shows. Dr. Duggan believes that one aspect of a healthy life is to maintain balance through involvement with community, hobbies, athletics, etc.  To this end Dr. Duggan has played ice hockey since the age of 5, skating for the Los Angeles Jets in the PSWHL from 1988 - 1990.  He still plays hockey two times per week. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Duggan and his practice, please visit his website at www.drdugganandassociates.com