Focus Forward: An Executive Function Podcast

Ep 66: From Overwhelmed to Empowered: 4 Essential Coping Skills Every Teen Needs to Thrive (ft. Dr. Jackie Wolfman)

May 21, 2025

47:26

This week, we’re revisiting a topic & conversion that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I had the opportunity to speak to the public at our local library about Executive Function skills for four different age groups, ranging from early elementary students to adults. In all four groups, we talked a lot about the importance of self-regulation and coping skills to get through challenging times. As we learned from Megan McClelland in the last episode, our ability to persist through challenges is hugely important, even as early as age four. This episode brings our attention specifically to our upper high school students, college students, and young adults. The challenges that teens and young adults face during those years bring all kinds of emotional and logistical hurdles, and having a set of reliable coping tools can make a huge difference in how successful and grounded young people feel during that time.

To explore this further, I spoke with Dr. Jackie Wolfman, a therapist based in the Boston area. She teaches her clients coping strategies through DBT—or dialectical behavior therapy. If you’re familiar with CBT, or cognitive behavior therapy, DBT is a related approach that also focuses on how our thoughts and behaviors interact. CBT helps people notice and challenge unhelpful thought patterns, while DBT adds tools specifically for managing intense emotions and building practical coping skills. The tools and strategies Jackie shares from DBT are for everyone, regardless of age or mental health needs, so I know that this episode will truly be useful to anyone. I even use these strategies myself!

Thank you for listening! Here are the show notes from today’s episode:

Learn More About Dr. Jackie Wolfman and DBT

https://villagepsych.com/

DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition, by Marsha Linehan

https://www.guilford.com/books/DBT-Skills-Training-Handouts-and-Worksheets/Marsha-Linehan/9781572307810

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

https://dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com/

What Is Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents - A helpful YouTube video

https://youtu.be/Stz--d17ID4

Other Resources Mentioned

And Then They Stopped Talking to Me: Making Sense of Middle School by Judith Warner

https://www.amazon.com/Then-They-Stopped-Talking-Me/dp/1101905883