By Janet Sasson Edgette - Most of us were never trained to talk to adolescents, and they often find most standard, shrink-wrapped attempts to "engage" them infuriating. Here's what they respond to best.

In this brief video, Janet Edgette, author of Adolescent Therapy That Really Works, offers concrete tips for approaching young clients who are apprehensive about therapy.

By Janet Sasson Edgette - Preoccupied with commanding deference, some parents fail to recognize that a child’s respect is always something bestowed, not extracted. Thus, they end up forfeiting the opportunity to remain credible influences on their children in favor of levying control, which is a poor and costly approach to relationship building.

Helping families move past stalemates often means teaching parents to earn their children’s respect.

By Janet Sasson Edgette - For many teenagers, few things are less appealing than the prospect of talking with adults. Can you blame them? Too often, adults quickly refashion conversations into know-it-all lectures, boring monologues, or annoying reprimands. Here are some approaches to building conversation that allow you to connect with young clients without making them feel self-conscious, pounced upon, or called out.

How to keep it real with teenage clients.

We all want to build strong relationships with our clients, but when working with adolescents, don’t overdo the empathy, says therapist Janet Edgette. Edgette says a common pitfall in working with young adults is being too nice and too eager to be liked. Use too much "therapy talk" and ignore obnoxious behavior, and you run the risk of seeming unnatural and alienating them.

By Janet Edgette - It’s probably fair to say that most teens loathe the very idea of therapy. Yet, with confused and troubled adolescents needing our help more than ever, the gap between our grad school training and what works in real-life practice continues to widen.

Connecting with today’s youth doesn’t mean being able to recite Justin Bieber’s latest hit. According to Janet Edgette, author of Adolescent Therapy That Really Works, it takes authenticity, perspective, and knowing how to make kids feel like they’re being listened to and respected.