Brainstorm was born from the need to focus on the positive essence of this period of life for adolescents and for adults. And these changes are not something to avoid or just get through, but to encourage. What has struck me in each of these roles is that there is no book available that reveals the view that the adolescent period of life is in reality the one with the most power for courage and creativity. In addition to working as a psychotherapist, I also teach about mental health. I also work as a physician in the practice of child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry, helping kids, teens, adults, couples, and families make sense of this exciting time in life. Understanding the nature of these changes can help us create a more positive and productive life journey. From around age twelve to age twenty-four, there is a burst of growth and maturation taking place as never before in our lives. In our journey I’ll show how this understanding, and learning the steps to strengthen the brain in practical ways, can help us build a more resilient mind and more rewarding relationships with others.ĭuring the teen years, our minds change in the way we remember, think, reason, focus attention, make decisions, and relate to others. Since the brain influences both our minds and our relationships, knowing about the brain can help us with our inner experience and our social connections. The essential features of adolescence emerge because of healthy, natural changes in the brain. The Benefits and Challenges of Adolescence 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. According to Siegel, during adolescence we learn vital skills, such as how to leave home and enter the larger world, connect deeply with others, and safely experiment and take risks.ĭrawing on important new research in the field of interpersonal neurobiology, Siegel explores exciting ways in which understanding how the brain functions can improve the lives of adolescents, making their relationships more fulfilling and less lonely and distressing on both sides of the generational divide. Daniel Siegel busts a number of commonly held myths about adolescence-for example, that it is merely a stage of “immaturity” filled with often “crazy” behavior. Daniel Siegel shows parents how to turn one of the most challenging developmental periods in their children’s lives into one of the most rewarding.īetween the ages of twelve and twenty-four, the brain changes in important and, at times, challenging ways.

In this New York Times–bestselling book, Dr.

Brainstorm by Daniel J. Siegel MD