The Emotionally Intelligent Teen: Skills to Help You Deal with What You Feel, Build Stronger Relationships, and Boost Self-Confidence

by Melanie McNally PsyD

Overview

Build a solid foundation for mental health and wellness with this fun and engaging guide—just for teens!

Do you ever feel misunderstood? Do you get upset easily, or struggle to manage difficult thoughts and feelings like sadness, anger, frustration, or worry? Does it feel like everything is just too stressful? If so, you’re far from alone. Many teens struggle to balance their emotions and manage stress. The good news is that your generation is keenly aware of the importance of mental health. Awareness is a great first step, but you also need solid skills to successfully navigate your complex world, be your best, and reach your goals. This book can teach you those skills!

In this friendly guide, psychologist Melanie McNally offers proven-effective tools to help you cultivate emotional intelligence—the ability to identify and express your emotions in healthy ways. You’ll gain a greater understanding of the connection between your emotions and your behavior, learn how to stay calm during stressful or anxiety provoking situations, and discover tips to help you manage conflict with your friends, family, teachers—or anyone in your life.

You’ll find foundational skills to help you:

• Increase motivation
• Practice emotional self-awareness
• Identify your feelings
• Manage your moods
• Decrease your stress levels
• Set authentic and attainable goals

 

Emotions are powerful things. By learning to understand and balance your own emotions, you’ll be empowered to take control of your goals, your dreams, and your mental well-being—now and into the future!

In these increasingly challenging times, kids and teens need mental health resources more than ever. With more than 1.6 million copies sold worldwide, Instant Help Books are easy to use, proven-effective, and recommended by therapists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781648482083
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	12/01/2023
Series:	Instant Help Solutions Series
Pages:	168
Sales rank:	212,989
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Melanie McNally, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and brain coach who helps tweens, teens, and young adults become the superheroes of their life stories. She is a strong advocate for teen mental health, and was a White House panelist where she spoke about youth mental health needs. She is founder of Destination You, a place where tweens, teens, young adults, and their parents get support through virtual coaching, teletherapy, virtual groups, self-guided programs, and other resources.

 

Editorial Reviews

Melanie McNally has gifted teens, and the adults who love them, with a powerful resource to begin creating a life they’ll love. Her expert knowledge of how to manage the real challenges young people face shines through on every page. Readers will love The Emotionally Intelligent Teen for its clear introduction to the language of emotional intelligence, and exercises that empower teens to try on new mental health skills.” 
—Chanel Dokun, cofounder of Healthy Minds NYC, and author of Life Starts Now
 

Chanel Dokun

I love how Melanie McNally uses real-life examples to help teens understand emotional intelligence and how it can affect their daily lives. For example, she lays out so clearly the descriptions of all the different emotional skills, and uses metaphors for mood and emotion so that both teens and adults can comprehend. This book should be foundational reading for any teenager before heading into adulthood. I can’t wait to get the book into my own teenager’s hands!” 
—Therese’ Connolly, LCSW, CCC, parent and family coach for parents of tweens and teens, host of The Single Parent Reset Show podcast, and single parent to a teen boy and a dog named Red 

Therese’ Connolly

I’ve witnessed firsthand the genius of Melanie McNally and am thrilled that millions of teens (and their parents) are now able to experience her brilliance. The support and guidance she offers in The Emotionally Intelligent Teen will transform your life in all the best ways—giving you the tools and resources you need to navigate your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions for the long haul.” 
—Regan Walsh, motivational speaker, and author of Heart Boss 
 

Regan Walsh

In The Emotionally Intelligent Teen, Melanie McNally does what she does best: speaks to teens in their language with compassion and authority. The book’s combination of information and narrative draws in the reader and offers a relatable mirror to what they may be going through or have witnessed in their own lives, while offering tools for response that highlight self-awareness and mindfulness. This is a powerful resource for adolescents (and adults!) and one I plan to pass on to my own kids.” 
—Casey O’Roarty, MEd, parent coach, positive discipline lead trainer, speaker, author, and host of the Joyful Courage podcast 
 

Casey O’Roarty

Melanie McNally’s book is a groundbreaking lifeline for teens and their unique struggles. She connects with the reader using easily accessible language and compelling case examples. McNally makes abstract concepts clear, and offers an arsenal of helpful tools. I highly recommend The Emotionally Intelligent Teen.” 
—Larry Maucieri, PhD, ABPP-CN, board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, and coeditor of The Distracted Couple

Larry Maucieri

McNally’s book creatively provides hands-on tools that teens can easily learn, practice, and apply in everyday interactions with peers, family, and self! More than ever, teens need these skills to learn to ‘go deeper’ versus ‘coasting’ as she describes, allowing them to grow into emotionally intelligent adults. Teens will develop self-awareness, mindfulness, and self-regulation skills through interactive journal entries and ‘vibe checks.’ This book should be on every teen’s shelf!” 
—Kristen Markovich, PsyD, clinical psychologist; and private practice owner in Schaumburg, IL 
 

Kristen Markovich

Teens today are under a high degree of pressure and stress, this book will give you the tools to feel satisfied with life, while embracing your emotional responses to life’s ups and downs. The Emotionally Intelligent Teen is a masterclass in training your mind, providing useful strategies and thought-provoking prompts to increase mental health and resiliency. Through the book’s daily practice and reflection, you will create healthy mind habits.” 
—Stacie M. Herrera, PsyD, owner of Herrera Psychology, cofounder of HumanizEDU, and coauthor of Unpacking Bliss
 

Stacie M. Herrera

A must-read for parents and educators! The Emotionally Intelligent Teen by Melanie McNally empowers young minds with essential life skills. Through practical advice and relatable anecdotes, this book nurtures self-confidence, fosters healthy relationships, and enhances emotional intelligence. An invaluable guide to help teens thrive in today’s complex world.” 
—Jill Petersen & Mary Frances, cofounders of Girls Mentorship—a company dedicated to the personal growth and development of teen and tween girls 

Jill Petersen & Mary Frances

2023-10-07
Teen psychologist McNally offers a self-help toolkit for developing emotional intelligence.

A perky, first-person narrator guides readers through a series of skill-building chapters focused on specific components of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and topics like self-regulation, awareness of others, and understanding physical sensations. Each chapter is filled with examples and exercises, such as a self-awareness questionnaire, breathing and visualization scripts for mindfulness practice, and a feelings wheel diagram to assist with identifying and articulating emotions. Reflective journal prompts throughout the book encourage readers to slow down and take time in building skills. Helpful tips for managing device usage and social media habits encourage teens to be screen time savvy and understand the potential impact of technology on their well-being. Readers experiencing common conflicts like sports team struggles or academic challenges may find value in this approach. The sample scenarios throughout the guide, while likely useful to many, do not address the more serious concerns many readers will have at a time when many young adults face identity-related pressures around their rights to be themselves: The absence of discussion around how emotional intelligence factors into conflicts that involve race, sexual orientation, or gender identity is a missed opportunity to bring helpful perspectives to this well-trodden subject. Nevertheless, this is an accessible overview of a perennially important subject.

A well-intentioned and helpful manual that doesn’t stand out in a crowded field. (references) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews