"We've made Yehudah's work a part of our family education program. Our parents and teens were so moved by his compassion. It's very clear that he has been listening carefully to the thousands of young people with whom he has worked."

—Rabbi Howard Addison, Temple Sinai, Philadelphia, PA

"Rabbi Fine's work is for everyone struggling to be renewed by timeless simple truths in the midst of all our modern desperation. He reflects and teaches the simple and sustaining sweetness of the human capacity for love, hope, and resilience."

—Kirk Barton, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Rabbi Fine's work is an invitation to us all. The rabbi is modeling a path for healing the wounds of denial and unexpressed love we carry. The Rabbi teaches us that when we truly become engaged in life, our appreciation for being alive grows. He shows us a road that passes through others' lives and leads us back to ourselves. But we arrive home enriched, in touch, and with a larger heart as a result of the journey."

—Earl Hipp, Author of Help for the Hard Times: Getting Through Loss and other books for adolescents.

"I've made a terrible mistake. It's really going to hurt my parents. I'm afraid to tell them. Should I?"

"I think one of my close friends is in real trouble with drugs. Should I do anything about it?"

"I'm having trouble in my math class and the teacher only cares about the kids who are doing well. How am I going to get through the class?"

"I heard there was a wild party and one of the guys got a friend of mine drunk and I think he had sex with her. What should I do?"

"If God cares so much about the world, why is there so much suffering?"

• The basics of understanding family systems.
• The key questions to ask teens and their families in the first sessions to help chart the direction of treatment in order to arrive at a strong working hypothesis for each family.
• The different kinds of trouble kids get into according to the family system they come from.
• How certain family systems give rise to violence and abuse
• The core issues teens raise today and how they relate to the family of origin. Topics include: Drug and alcohol experimentation and abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, sexuality and intimacy, violence, and spirituality and the quest for meaning.
• Brief interventive therapy: The teaching of the Miracle Tale and its applications for teenagers.
• The quest for deeper meaning and insight: How to bring spiritual teaching and values into therapy and the classroom.
• The issues of the wounded healer: Working with personal spiritual issues that turn burn-out into inspiration and growth.

1. Tell your children you love them and why.


2. Stay in touch with your kid's world—their music and their friends. Make your home a place for their friends.


3. Stay in close communication with your child. Don't use poverty or overwork as excuses.


4. Be flexible. What worked when your child was 9 is irrelevant at 16. And what worked for your parents when raising you might not work for your children today.


5. Don't let mistakes as a parent make you stop trying. Children learn mightily from how you deal with life.


6. Effective parenting depends strongly on having a working relationship with your spouse or ex-spouse. By working together, you help build self-confidence and strength in your child.


7. As a parent you don't have to be perfect. It's okay to be inconsistent at times. Let your kid know about how you struggle with important issues.


8. Be prepared to get competent professional help if your child is in serious trouble.


9. Put prime time into your family life. Invest in family at least what you invest in your career.


10. Admit your feelings of discomfort in discussing the "hot topics" (sex., drugs, etc.) Sharing your vulnerabilities builds your teen's character.