headspace led WMQ is continuing to support families across the Fraser Coast with its highly regarded Tuning In To Teens program, delivered locally through its centres in Hervey Bay and Maryborough.
The free six-session parenting program is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 10–18 years, focusing on one of the most challenging and formative stages of life. Tuning Into Teens helps adults build stronger relationships with their teenagers by improving communication, understanding emotions and learning practical strategies to manage conflict.
Danielle Shepherd, Centre Manager for headspace Hervey Bay, says the adolescent years are critical in shaping lifelong mental health and wellbeing. “These are the formative years,” she explains. “It’s not about giving in, it’s about building trust.”
At the heart of the program is emotional coaching. Parents and carers learn how to better recognise, understand and respond to their teen’s emotions, rather than dismissing or escalating them. By becoming more emotionally intelligent themselves, adults can model healthy emotional regulation a skill that directly supports young people to manage stress, anxiety and peer pressures.
Research consistently shows that strong parent–teen relationships are protective factors against mental health and behavioural issues. When young people feel heard and validated at home, they are more likely to seek support early and develop resilience in the face of challenges.
Importantly, the program also supports the mental health of parents and carers. Raising teenagers can be overwhelming, particularly for grandparents and kinship carers who may unexpectedly find themselves back in a parenting role.
Tuning Into Teens provides not only practical tools, but reassurance and peer connection reminding carers they are not alone. The program has proven extremely popular across the Fraser Coast, with places filling quickly each time it is offered. A new intake will soon be announced.
By strengthening communication and building emotional awareness within families, headspace in partnership with WM Q is helping create homes where conversations feel safer, conflicts are navigated more calmly, and young people are better equipped to thrive both now and into adulthood.
