Workshop

This talk is an emotional survival guide to the college admissions process for high school juniors and seniors, as well as their parents. The end of high school and the transition to college confront both child and parents with numerous developmental challenges. To the extent that people think the process is just about the RIGHT college, or worse yet the ONE AND ONLY GREAT college, both parents and child are at risk for alienation from one another and disappointment in themselves. Everyone survives the college application process, more or less gracefully. Dr. Thompson gives a number of suggestions regarding how families can develop a philosophy about the process and enjoy it more.

There are five developmental challenges which every adolescent must meet. There are no shortcuts and no exemptions, and these challenges are, from a psychological point of view, very strenuous. At the same time, most adolescents meet them with grace and ingenuity. Despite the images of rebellious and antisocial adolescents in the popular media, fully two-thirds of children have smooth or stepwise patterns of growth during the teen-age years, only one-third a tumultuous pattern. This humorous talk, illustrated with cartoons and drawings, provides useful perspective for parents of adolescents and calming preparation for parents of about-to-be-adolescents.