DBT & ACT SKILLS for parents

Supporting your teenager while strengthening yourself

A Full Day Workshop For Parents

We are proud to bring more than 15 years of experience working with adolescents and their parents into this carefully designed workshop.

At Glenbrook Practice, we have spent many years supporting teenagers through intense emotions, anxiety, impulsivity, self-harm and the complex demands of adolescence, while also walking alongside the parents who care for them. We understand both sides of this experience. We know how exhausting, confusing and lonely parenting a struggling teenager can feel. We also know that when parents are given practical, evidence-based skills, the whole family benefits.

This one-day workshop offers a clear and different approach. You will learn how to understand your teenager’s behaviour more dialectically, how to respond with greater effectiveness, and how to look after your own wellbeing at the same time. The goal is not perfect parenting. The goal is more skilful, more grounded, and more sustainable parenting.

Two approaches, working together

Parenting a teenager who experiences intense emotions is rarely simple. Many of the usual approaches, reasoning, consequences, reassurance, or “just staying calm”, often feel insufficient. This workshop brings together two powerful and complementary frameworks:

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

DBT skills help you support your teenager more effectively. You will learn practical ways to validate their experience, regulate your own responses during difficult moments, tolerate distress without making things worse, and communicate more clearly, even when emotions are high on both sides.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT skills help you manage the personal cost of parenting a struggling teenager. You will learn how to reduce the grip of guilt, self-criticism and chronic worry, clarify what matters most to you as a parent, and take steady, values-based action even when the situation feels overwhelming. Together, these approaches offer something many parents have been looking for: a way to stay connected to their teenager and remain grounded themselves.

What the Day Covers

The workshop is structured to be practical and immediately usable. Across the day, we will explore:

How the adolescent brain develops and why certain behaviours that feel defiant or extreme often make more developmental sense than they first appear
Core DBT skills for validation, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness
ACT processes that help parents handle stress, reduce self-criticism and stay connected to their values
Current challenges many families face, including academic pressure and perfectionism, the impact of AI companions, loneliness, and parental burnout
How to begin responding dialectically, holding both your teenager’s experience and your own needs without collapsing into either extreme

You will leave with concrete skills, a comprehensive workbook to continue practising at home, and a clearer framework for the road ahead.

Who this workshop is for

This workshop is designed for parents and primary caregivers of teenagers who:

Experience intense emotions, anxiety, impulsivity or emotional dysregulation

Leave their parents feeling uncertain, exhausted or unsure how best to respond

Have a recent or ongoing mental health diagnosis

Struggle with motivation, school pressure or social withdrawal

You do not need any prior knowledge of DBT or ACT. The material is presented in clear, accessible language with a strong focus on real-life application.

Registration & Details

24th October 2026

09:00 AM - 15:00 PM

Investment: R1800.00

Stoep Startup, 3 Tiverton Road, Plumstead (Southern Suburbs, Cape Town)

Includes: Full-day workshop facilitation, comprehensive participant workbook, and lunch

Group size is kept intentionally small so that the experience remains personal and practical.

Register

Places are limited. To secure your place, please complete the following form.

Your place will be confirmed once payment has been received.

If you have any questions before registering, feel free to get in touch. We are happy to help.

Full Name

Home/Cell Number

Physical / Postal Address (Optional)

Lunch Option:

Normal Lunch Vegetarian Lunch

How did you hear about this workshop?

Emergency Contact Name and Number (Optional)

Declaration:

I understand that this is a skills-based workshop and not individual therapy. I confirm that the information provided above is accurate. I agree to the workshop fee of R1 800 and understand that an invoice will be sent to me upon receipt of this registration form. Payment will secure my place.

Date