Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain

Daniel J. Siegel M.D. delivers a helpful guide for parents, teachers, mentors, and caregivers on the journey of adolescence. The author discusses the age of 12-24, a challenging time for the adolescent and the caregiver, which can also be a painful, thrilling time. Tips are given of how to help the adolescent survive and thrive, through this period in life. In addition, Doctor Siegel presents myths that are not true, such as raging hormones to be the evil cause, or to lose their minds. He explains that hormones do increase, but they don't determine what goes on.The author highlights that what goes on, what they experience, is the result of changes in the development of the brain. To know about these changes, is the golden key to helping an adolescent. This knowledge can help the parent, teacher, and mentor to make things more smoothing. Another myth is that adolescence is a time of immaturity, and they need to 'grow up.' The truth is that an adolescent travels through a path that can be confusing, and intense.Doctor Siegel also presents information on the testing of boundaries, the passion to explore the unknown,and the exciting. The findings of research and the truths of understanding this stage of life, can help the adolescent to lead an adventure, and purpose. The author also discusses dependence versus independence. More important, he points out that if we get beyond the myths, we can make this journey much better for the adolescent, and the caregiver.In conclusion, if we project negative attitudes, then this is how they see themselves. They will sink to that level, instead of realizing their true potential. We need to understand that this is a time of emotional intensity, social engagement, and creativity. The benefits and challenges are also discussed, along with the need of parents to have an emotional spark, and a reminder that what we see in others, can remind us of what we are missing in ourselves. Most important, when we understand the brain, we can make positive choices, and constructive lives. There is also information on: Maintaining The Power And the Purpose Of The Adolescent mind; How Communication Is Important To Relationships; Risk & Reward; and Pushing away. Interesting, extremely helpful, and thought-provoking. Highly recommended!

This book is amazing and I wish it would have been available when my children were teenagers! It explains all the latest research in adolescent brain development as well the relationship between brain development and parent-child attachment. It explains how emotions develop and how we learn to recognize and regulate our emotions. It also provides Tons of examples of how to deal with the multiple daily interactions between parents and teens that are often frustrating for everyone involved. As a retired developmental psychologist, I highly recommend this book for everyone who interacts with teens on a regular basis!

I bought this on Kindle along with the professional reading (by the author) which is not being sold separately until the end of the year. All of this was for less than the publisher's price of the book.Dr. Siegel is an excellent researcher and he has entered into an area of study that is surprisingly not as well studied as one might guess and I don't mean those silly self-help guides in bookstores. I saw the professor speak at a conference this weekend which is why I thought of buying the book. To be honest, the room gets very crowded when he and his ego enter and it became very clear from his talk that I would be better off just reading the book instead of staying for him to recite chapter topics so I found a different workshop in the afternoon session. Now of course, the professional reading still has the professor, but he is much less egoistic in his reading than when he is putting on his show.The text is meant for both the professional and the layperson-parent and he actually encourages the reading of at least some of the material by adolescents too. His advice is sound and his descriptions are easy to follow. Overall, an excellent resource.

This is an excellent, thorough and easy to grasp overview of the adolescent mind by Dan Siegel, M.D. I enjoyed switching between reading via Kindle and listening via Kindle/Audible function. The neuroscience and attachment-based descriptions of what is happening and how to support the development of adolescents is immediately useful. Dr. Siegel provides many specific tools as well as approaches that parents, teens, and therapists can apply to maximize the development of social, emotional, cognitive and relational capacities during adolescence. The book might be a bit lengthy for teens, but one of its special features is the tone of Dr. Siegel's voice and messages to teens - respectful, insightful, and informative. He shares stories both personal and professional to illustrate some common individual and interpersonal challenges teens and parents encounter and how to use "mindsight" skills to navigate effectively through these years.

Recommend for anyone interested in knowing about how the teenage brain functions

Está muy bien hecho para entender y cambiar la percepción que tenemos de los adolescentes.Es claro y facil de leer

I wonderful and well written book.

Very descriptive. It contains real life examples that helped understand issues that I have never thought.

The book was in agood condition.

It will help you to understand what your kid is thinking, how their brain is working, how you can change their thinking in a positive way.