Articles on Unlocking Potential

By Dr. Lynn Margolies
Getting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Parenting ChallengesTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

10 Easy Ways to Get Along With Your Teen

Practical tips for dealing with teenagers to build trust, respect, and better communication.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsGetting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Limits & BoundariesParenting ChallengesTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

3 Easy Ways to Get Your Teen to Talk and Listen

Parents get intimidated when their teenager refuses to talk or shuts down conversations. Here are 3 simple tricks to get your teenager to talk, listen, and engage in a two-way conversation.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Attraction & RomanceRelationship IssuesUnlocking Potential

4 Match-Up Types: Which One Do You (Unconsciously) Select?

Find out why matching with certain types of people can lead to surprising outcomes you did not expect (or want).
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Risk, Danger, & Self-Destructive BehaviorTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

6 Proven Ways to Help Teens Make Safe Choices

Helping teens make good choices. Reduce risky behavior. Proven strategies for teaching how to make the right decisions and better decision making.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Teens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetUnlocking Potential

A Guide to Sending Your Teenager Off to College: Overcoming Common Challenges

With the arrival of summer, many teenagers will be preparing to go off to college and leaving home for the first time. In this final leg of the race, families face many challenges navigating this transition.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Teens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

A Quiz on Teens: 5 Common Misconceptions Even You Might Still Believe

Learn the facts about the teenage brain. Take this short quiz to see if you still harbor common stereotypes about teens.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Unlocking PotentialPopular Psychology Topics

Are You Confusing Rumination With Problem-Solving?

An ill-fated but common problem is failing to recognize rumination as a sign of anxiety, and confusing it with thinking things through.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsGetting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Guilt & AnxietyParenting ChallengesSeparation IssuesTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Being a Wise Ally for Your Kids

How do we deal with getting our loved ones to do what we want them to do? In all relationships we feel the tension created by this dilemma. The subtext of interactions between parents and children facing conflict shapes the template kids develop and carry with them.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Getting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Parenting ChallengesTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Bonding With Your Teen: a Hidden Opportunity

How can we tell whether our reactions are coming from our own unresolved issues versus “legitimate”?
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Assertiveness & BoundariesWomen’s IssuesUnlocking PotentialGood NewsPsychology News

Breaking Stereotypes: Why Women Excel at Financial Negotiation and Decision-Making

This blog discusses recent findings that women may be more effective than men in negotiating finances in certain situations and making smart decisions.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsGetting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Guilt & AnxietyLimits & BoundariesParenting ChallengesSeparation IssuesAssertiveness & BoundariesFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Can a Parent Have Too Much Empathy?

Many people experience vicarious distress when imagining other people’s reactions, which can hold them back from taking needed action in those relationships.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Couples IssuesRelationship IssuesAssertiveness & BoundariesUnlocking PotentialPsychology NewsGood News

Can Having a Conscientious Spouse Have an Impact on Your Career?

Wondering how to support your spouse’s career? Research shows a supportive partner boosts success, job satisfaction, and happiness by reducing stress.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Assertiveness & BoundariesWomen’s IssuesUnlocking Potential

Competition Among Women: Myth & Reality

Women seem to have a reputation for being “catty” and competitive with other women, unlike how men behave with other men. This is a curious notion, especially since women are actually less competitive than men out in the world and less comfortable being competitive.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsGetting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Guilt & AnxietyLimits & BoundariesParenting ChallengesSeparation IssuesTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetAssertiveness & BoundariesFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Courage & Limits With Your Teen

Recognize that, though they will say otherwise (and that’s ok), teens feel protected by limits. No one likes feeling out of control without anyone strong enough to help them.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Parenting ChallengesApproaching Difficult TopicsGetting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Guilt & AnxietySeparation IssuesTeens & Young AdultsAcademic Pressure & PerfectionismUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Crisis of Confidence in a Teen: It’s a Family Matter

This story is about a teenager who undergoes a crisis of confidence, after her identity was challenged by a sports injury. Her resulting difficulties challenged the well-being and stability of the whole family.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Guilt & AnxietyLimits & BoundariesParenting ChallengesSeparation IssuesAssertiveness & BoundariesFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Daughters Growing Up, Mothers Growing Scared

Difficulties with separation often are activated during developmental transitions such as the first day of kindergarten, adolescence, high school graduation, leaving home and finally, marriage. At these junctures, mothers need to step back and let go, allowing their children to mature and transition to the next level.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Attraction & RomanceBoundariesCouples IssuesCouples TherapyInfidelityRelationship IssuesAffairs & FantasyAssertiveness & BoundariesMen’s IssuesInside The Male MindMidlife CrisisUnlocking Potential

Dear John (or Jane) Text/Emails: Closing the Door After an Affair

An affair that is suddenly exposed or suddenly ends poses a particular risk situation for the vulnerable marriage with an unfaithful spouse. In the aftermath of an affair, feelings of loss, conflict and pressure can make it difficult to let go of the illicit relationship, compounding the lure that led to the affair in the first place.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsDivorceGetting Teens to Talk (and Listen)Guilt & AnxietyParenting ChallengesSeparation IssuesAssertiveness & BoundariesFamily IssuesInside The Male MindMen’s IssuesUnlocking Potential

Easy Steps to Reconnect: a Guide for Emotionally Avoidant Dads

Empathic ability, or “mind reading,” develops in the brain when parents know how to translate their children’s reactions and respond in a way that helps them regulate their emotional states. This process also involves helping the child understand what is happening in interpersonal situations. The child then digests and internalizes these experiences, building the capacity to make sense of themselves and relationships, as well as manage their emotions.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsGuilt & AnxietyParenting ChallengesAcademic Pressure & PerfectionismTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetADHD & Executive Function DeficitsFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Executive Function Problem or Just a Lazy Kid: Part 1

A common denominator and basis of all executive functioning is the ability to hold things in mind, step back and reflect. Without this capacity, it is difficult to have perspective, judgment, or emotional control. Therefore, admonishing or punishing children who are not following the rules because of limited executive function is not only ineffective, but leads children who are already frustrated and discouraged to feel bad about themselves and unsupported.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies
Approaching Difficult TopicsGuilt & AnxietyParenting ChallengesAcademic Pressure & PerfectionismTeens & Young AdultsUnderstanding the Teenage MindsetADHD & Executive Function DeficitsFamily IssuesUnlocking Potential

Executive Function Problem or Just a Lazy Kid? Part 2 — Parent Tips and Guidance

Without accurately understanding children’s behavior, parents and teachers may intervene in ways that compound the situation, creating a control struggle on top of the original problem. To be effective in helping children, we must accurately diagnose the problem and be curious about what is happening: What is causing this behavior? Though defiance and executive function deficits can look the same on the surface, a problem of defiance is handled differently than a problem of limited capacity.
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Dr. Lynn Margolies