#135 Transformative Cultural Abroad Experiences for Teen Personal Growth with Johnny Tock

Flourish Coaching

Aug 13, 2024

In this episode, Lisa and Johnny discuss:

The pressures students are under from all directions.
How parents can recognize when their students are struggling and how to help them.
Culturally immersive programs and how they can burst the bubble students are living in.
Creating change with important life experiences for your student.
Learning valuable life skills during transformational experiences.

Key Takeaways:

Students are pressured from all directions by family, peers, society, culture, teachers, and more. Many students don’t know that they can go down alternate paths than those they feel prescribed for them.
Struggles will be unique to each student and will look different for each of those students.
Travel can provide your student with a break from the turmoil of everyday life, allowing them to figure out who they are and what matters most to them.
There are more opportunities than people realize, and life is a marathon, not a sprint. Cultural experiences allow students to see some of the opportunities that they may not have known about otherwise.
Being college-capable and being college-ready are two different things.

“Exposing our young folks, especially those who don’t have a lot of world experience, to art, history, music, food, community, language, all of those things, is medicine for the soul.” – Johnny Tock

About Johnny Tock:

Johnny is a licensed professional counselor with over 15 years experience working within a variety of therapeutic environments for teens and young adults. His experience includes: a treatment program specifically focused on internet and video game addiction, a therapeutic boarding school, group homes, a wilderness program, community mental health facilities, and a high school directly affected by trauma. Through individual, group, and family therapy, he helped guide his student’s experiences in an effective way that elicited substantial growth and identity development.

Johnny strongly believes that relationship-building and connection are the most important part of creating change and growth. His passion and strength can be seen in his relationships with students, colleagues, and referring professionals through heightened communication, follow-through, and positivity.

Episode References:

#013 The Many Advantages of a Gap Year https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/podcast/13-the-many-advantages-of-a-gap-year/

#062 Gap Year: Is it a better freshmen start? https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/podcast/062-gap-year-is-it-a-better-freshmen-start/
Dots Excercise: flourishcoachingco.com/dots

Get Lisa’s Free on-demand video: How-to guide for your teen to choose the right major, college, & career…(without painting themselves into a corner, missing crucial deadlines, or risking choices you both regret).

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