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A panel of teens will share what it's like trying to cope with today's pressures, including technology and social media, as well as current traumatic events, all while trying to find their own authentic voice and sense of purpose. Leah Niehaus, LCSW, and Adam O'Neil, Mindset Coach, will facilitate the discussion and share their professional insight for parents.
All South Bay parents are invited to this free event. We ask that you register in advance as seating is limited. Please note that due to the sensitive nature of this teen panel discussion, youth will not be admitted to this event.
View information and resources curated for parents on the SBFC website on topics that will be addressed during this talk:
About the Families Connected Speaker Series
In June 2016, LSM Communications, LLC (LSM), created and privately funded the Families Connected Speaker Series as the in-person educational component of the South Bay Families Connected project. In August of 2016, LSM partnered with Beach Cities Health District to help fund the series, and in September 2017, together we established co-sponsorships with SBFC's Partner Districts, Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Redondo Beach Unified School District, and Hermosa Valley Unified School District. The three Beach Cities school districts provide the venues and help shape the presentations topics and content. The series has grown dramatically from its first event at Pages Bookstore as a direct result of these partnerships, yet it still remains true to our original mission of connecting all South Bay parents with current information, trusted professionals, and with other parents in our shared goal of helping all youth thrive and stay on a healthy path to maturity. We're all in this together.
About the Presenters
Leah M. Niehaus is an LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, specializing in children, adolescent, adult, and family psychotherapy. Leah maintains a part-time private practice in Hermosa Beach, California. While she is not practicing psychotherapy, she is a full-time mother to her three young children and two labrador retrievers. Leah was born and raised in California and has lived in Southern California for twenty years. Leah has twenty years experience as a clinician and is a graduate of Pepperdine and CSULB School of Social Work. Among her areas of expertise are working with troubled adolescents, complicated family systems, children and adolescents navigating life transitions (divorce, loss, transition to high school or college), and those with histories of child abuse or neglect. She has been a guest speaker at Fusion South Bay, National Charity League (South Bay Chapter), South Bay Families Connected on "Issues on the Minds of Teens: Stress, Sleep, and Tech", and the Under Pressure Panel at Congregation Tikvat Jacob in Manhattan Beach. She is also a published author on miscarriage for the California Society for Clinical Social Work and "On Being a Mother and a Therapist" for South Bay Families Connected. She serves as the Chair of the Social Emotional Wellness (SEW) committee for Pacific Elementary School and is on the SEW Committee at Manhattan Beach Middle School.
Adam O'Neil is a local mental skills consultant working at Pinnacle Performance, a Hermosa Beach based sport and performance psychology private practice. Working with Dr. Michael Gervais, Adam has developed specializations with the application of psychological skills techniques that enhance performance in a variety of domains, including sports, performing arts, business, entrepreneurship, and organizational consulting with Fortune 500 companies. Before his work in applied performance psychology, he worked with local neuropsychologists and schools to better identify, assess, and treat sport-related concussions. Adam holds advanced degrees in sport and performance psychology and clinical psychology, and he is currently finishing his PhD. A father of two boys under the age of 7, Adam spends his leisure time learning how to parent with his awesome wife, Lauren, and trying to stay sharp with his favorite activity: playing ice hockey. Adam is particularly interested in using evidence-based mental skills, such as mindfulness meditation, to improve subjective well-being and overall psychological health so that we can derive deeper meaning from our pursuits and from our relationships.