Parenting Difficulties with Troubled Teens and Stuck Young Adults

Are you facing long-term or acute parenting or co-parenting difficulties?

The Family Recovery Institute in San Rafael, California specializes in helping parents of troubled teens and adult children who are struggling with serious behavioral, emotional, or mental health issues. Whether your problematic child is an adolescent or well into adulthood, the emotions, powerlessness and confusion you experience can be beyond overwhelming. You may feel like you're walking on eggshells, constantly in crisis mode, waiting for the next “shoe to drop”, or just plain exhausted from trying to help a child who resists your efforts. Or, perhaps there is resistance to collaborating within the parental unit or parent/step-parent group. These conflicts are common and we can identify best approaches.

Whether your child is experiencing substance abuse, mental health challenges, behavioral problems, failure to launch, or other difficulties, we are here to support you—the parent. We provide specialized individual and group therapy for parents and co-parents who are dealing with complex family dynamics and long-term emotional strain.

Common Challenges with Troubled Teens

For parents of teenagers, it can be difficult to distinguish between normal adolescent behavior and warning signs of deeper issues. At FRI, we help parents make sense of what’s going on and respond from a place of clarity, helping you parents take steps to promote connection while actively pursuing remedies and interventions.

Common teen issues we treat include:

  • Substance use and overuse in teens, including vaping, cannabis, alcohol, and prescription drugs

  • School refusal, academic decline, or chronic truancy

  • Defiance and oppositional behavior at home or in school

  • Self-harm, depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, gender questioning, and suicidal ideation

  • Risky behaviors, such as reckless driving, unsafe sex, or illegal activity

  • Problematic smartphone and social media use

  • Social isolation or gaming addiction, often linked with emotional dysregulation

These problems invariably lead to family conflict, academic consequences, and deep parental distress. Our team helps you understand your role in the family system and begin to shift your approach in ways that are both compassionate and well-defined.

Challenges with Struggling Adult Children

Parenting difficulties don’t dissipate when your kids reach age 18. Many parents come to us heartbroken and confused about how to handle a son or daughter in their 20s, 30s, or beyond who continues to struggle and challenge the family system’s resources and serenity — frequently despite years of effort, treatment, or support.

Common adult child issues we address include:

  • Substance use disorders and relapse

  • Failure to launch, including adult children living at home with no direction or motivation

  • Untreated mental health conditions, including mood and thought disorders and violent, developmental or ancestral trauma*

  • Emotional manipulation, gaslighting, or chronic dependency

  • Legal problems, financial instability, or ongoing crises

  • Estrangement or volatile communication patterns

We help parents navigate the unique situation and intolerable pain that comes from watching a grown child with self-destructive tendencies—or a refusal to grow up. With therapy, parents can learn to set healthy boundaries while promoting and seeking connection, stop enabling dysfunctional patterns, and begin to reclaim their own serenity, household peace and peace of mind.

Individual Therapy for Parents of Troubled Teens and Adults

We offer individual counseling for parents who are dealing with the kinds of children described above. Our experienced team of therapists will help you:

  • Understand your emotional reactions and family dynamics

  • Set realistic boundaries and limits without feeling like a “bad parent”

  • Let go of outcomes you can’t control

  • Begin to heal from years of stress or emotional burnout

Therapy gives you the opportunity to step back from the chaos and focus on your own growth, mental health, and well-being.

Group Therapy for Parents

Our support groups for parents offer a safe, therapist-led space to connect with others who are going through similar experiences. In multi-family group therapy, you'll find a sense of community, insight, and practical strategies for managing the stress of parenting a child who continues to struggle—whether they’re 17 or 37.

Benefits of multi-family parent support groups at FRI include:

  • Reducing isolation and shame

  • Learning boundary-setting skills and communication strategies

  • Sharing wisdom and perspective while learning from other parents’ experiences

  • Strengthening emotional resilience and self-care practices

Many of our group members say this space becomes their lifeline—one of the only places where they feel fully understood.

*See our blog article regarding inherited trauma and breaking its cycles

Get Support Today

If you're a parent struggling with a troubled teen or a stuck adult child please contact us to help you find your footing again.

With nearly 30 years of experience, Dr. Perlmutter and the experienced team of clinicians at FRI combine psychodynamics, family systems therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, peer support, and spiritual methods to help our clients achieve their goals. This is often long-term challenging work. We pride ourselves on our ability to help people with complex conditions and difficult circumstances. We serve couples from San Rafael, Mill Valley, Novato, Fairfax, Petaluma, and the broader Bay Area.

Please call 415-322-0939 for a phone consultation or complete our form to schedule an appointment.