A New Theory of Teenagers

A guide for families to thrive in the midst of the tumultuous teen years — and the culmination of the author’s twenty-five years of experience in both conventional psychology and alternative methods

In her decades of practice and academic research, Dr. Christa Santangelo, a psychologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of California-San Francisco, has seen many relationships devastated by the emotional hurricane that teenagers can inflict on a family. Yet Dr. Santangelo also understands how that conflict can be resolved and a new way forward mapped together between parents and teen. In A New Theory of Teenagers, she gives parents the advice, tips, support, and big-picture overview needed to see the teen years as an opportunities for growth and positive relationship changes. With counterintuitive steps (such as “Endure Emotions”), she offers hope and empowerment. Dr. Santangelo asserts that parents have a far greater impact on conflict with their teen than they may realize, metaphorically handing parents back the power to shift the situation to harmony.

And, Dr. Santangelo does it with a fresh and multi-dimensional approach to the parent-teen relationship by integrating conventional psychology with alternative methods including yoga and meditation-intended to work on building trust, sitting with and understanding emotions, and seeing room for positivity in the midst of it all.