S2E10: Parenting Teens, Early Intervention, and the LIFT Program with Dannette BivinsS2E10: Parenting Teens, Early Intervention, and the LIFT Program with Dannette Bivins
APC Recovery Cafe
Nichole talks with therapist Dannette Bivins about parenting teens, early intervention, and how the LIFT programme supports families around mental health, sexting and substance use. The conversation highlights caregiver guilt, practical strategies for connection, and the value of addressing problems before they escalate.
40:15•11 Jun 2026
Parenting Risk‑Taking Teens and the LIFT Program with Dannette Bivins
Episode Overview
- Parents can do many things “right” and teens may still make risky choices; the focus is on relationship and support rather than blame.
- Grounding and removing phones or activities can sometimes worsen problems if they cut off a teen’s healthy social support.
- Early intervention that addresses underlying mental health issues can reduce self‑medication with substances in adolescence.
- The LIFT programme offers eight weeks of parallel groups for caregivers and teens, combining education with concrete tools like chores, rewards and realistic consequences.
- Knowing current apps, hidden folders and drug trends helps caregivers spot risks and start more informed conversations with their teens.
“"You can do everything right… and you were the perfect parent, your child could still make choices that get them in bad situations."”
What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This conversation on APC Recovery Cafe’s "The Shield" zooms in on parenting teens, early intervention, and how mental health ties into substance use and risky behaviour. Executive Director Nichole chats with licensed mental health therapist Dannette Bivins, owner of Intentional Healing, who specialises in family therapy and working with adolescents in the juvenile court system, including those caught up in problematic sexual behaviours and sexting.
Dannette shares how her own family’s experience with mandated family therapy lit the spark for her career and shaped her love of working with whole family systems, not just the individual.
She reminds caregivers that they’re not solely to blame when things go sideways: "You can do everything right… and you were the perfect parent, your child could still make choices that get them in bad situations." From there, the talk moves into very practical ground—why typical grounding can backfire, how phones and gaming can be both lifeline and landmine, and why connection and relationship matter more than punishment.
A big chunk of the episode focuses on LIFT (Learning and Interventions for Families with Teens), an eight‑week, no‑cost programme funded by the Children’s Trust Fund. Aimed at 7th–9th graders and their caregivers in the greater Birmingham, Alabama area, LIFT runs separate but parallel groups for adults and teens. Parents learn about typical teen behaviour versus possible mental health concerns, how diagnoses are treated, and how to build effective chores, rewards and consequences.
Teens get the same themes in their own language, plus straight talk on sexting, apps, hidden folders and current substance trends. If you’re raising a teen and feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or just ready for a "tune‑up", this chat might leave you asking: what small pivot could help your family feel more connected and less alone right now?
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