Teens being moody and defiant is common. Sometimes, this defiant behavior may become aggressive and even violent. This leaves parents, guardians, and educators wondering what to do when their teen’s anger escalates to violent behavior. Teen aggression and violence are warning signs that your teen is struggling with something else. Teen violent behavior may manifest in various ways, such as getting into frequent fights or verbal abuse. Witnessing such behavior from your teen can be both heartbreaking and concerning.
Parents need to address aggressive and violent behaviors immediately to prevent further escalation. This article aims to help parents, caregivers, and educators understand how to intervene when teens exhibit violent behaviors. The article will also highlight different treatment options available for teens with violent behavioral tendencies.
If you need immediate assistance for your teen’s violence issues, give our team at NexStep Teen Academy a call today.
Intervention Strategies for Teen Family Violence
It can be heartbreaking watching your teen exhibit violent behavior toward you or other family members. You can take several intervention measures to address your teen’s aggressive behavior. These include the following:
Immediate De-escalation During Violent Episodes
If your teen has become violent with you, it is important to de-escalate the situation. Ask your teen what is bothering them and create a conducive environment for self-expression. Remind them that it is important to talk about their issues. If your teen needs space to cool off, do not pressure them into talking. Give them time to reset and talk about the aggression later.
As a parent or guardian, you should always remain cool in such situations. You risk escalating the situation further if you cannot maintain your composure. When in crisis, maintain a calm voice when addressing your teen. Pay attention to your breathing to ensure you keep calm. If you allow yourself to lose control of the situation, your teen may become more agitated and continue with their violent outbursts.
Parents and guardians should be empathetic and look for the emotional cause of teen violent behavior. During a heated argument, validate your teen’s emotions and show them compassion. The last thing they want to hear is that their feelings are misplaced. Violence is seen as protective, keeping them away from more vulnerable emotions and topics. Empathy allows teens to feel validated and understood, and the situation will de-escalate.
Creating A Family Safety Plan
Keeping the rest of your family safe is crucial when teen violence gets out of hand. Sometimes, creating a family safety plan is vital to keep them safe. It is always important to be mentally and physically prepared for an emergency. When creating a family safety plan, you need to consider the following:
Define the Issue that Requires the Safety Plan: Everyone in the family needs to understand what the safety plan is for. In instances of teen violent behavior, be clear about what the family needs to be protected from. Once everyone understands the cases requiring the plan to be implemented, they can easily understand their roles.
Identify Safe Spaces in the Home: Your family needs to identify places to go when your teen is getting violent. For example, a room can be designated as a calming room where your children can stay safe. Always ensure that the safe areas remain secure at all times.
Have Access to an Emergency Hotline: In cases of out-of-control violence, ensure everyone has access to an emergency hotline like 911. Moreover, call 988 for help for a mental health crisis. Have this information on the speed dial to ensure it is easily retrievable.
Identify Triggers: Identifying triggers can help you implement the safety plan. It allows parents to understand how their teens react to certain stimuli. It will also help your other children know how to keep themselves safe if your teen becomes aggressive or violent.
Determine Everyone’s Role in the Plan: Everyone should know their roles. It allows children to understand what they should do when the plan is implemented and prevents teen sibling violence.
Keep the Plan Updated: Always ensure that the plan is kept up to date as you learn more about your teen’s violent outbursts.
Have a Contingency Plan: You should ensure a plan in case the safety plan fails. Being well-prepared for every eventuality will ensure your family’s safety.
Setting Clear Boundaries and Consequences
It can be challenging to set boundaries for aggressive teens. However, your teen should understand that their behavior has consequences. When setting boundaries for violent teens, communicate the boundaries with love and not anger. You should not show them who the boss is but instead show empathy and concern. The boundaries you set should be reasonable. Do not set meaningless consequences that your teen will unlikely follow. If your teen crosses the boundary, follow it up with an action. Do not just threaten repercussions, you will have to follow through.
Causes of Teen Family Violence
Aggression is usually a symptom or a mask of an underlying issue. Many teens feel the need to be seen as tough instead of embracing their vulnerabilities. Some causes of teen aggression and violence include the following:
Underlying Mental Health Conditions: Mental health conditions such as ADHD and PTSD can cause teen violence.
Trauma: Teens who have experienced a traumatic event, especially physical violence, are likely to become violent when triggered.
Substance Abuse: Teens who abuse substances may pick up aggressive tendencies to mask their drug use. They may also become violent when confronted about their substance use disorder.
Family Dynamics: Teens raised in violent homes may learn that that is the only way to settle scores. Parents should be positive role models to their teens and not engage in aggressive or violent behaviors.
Early Warning Signs of Teen Family Aggression
Parents should look out for the following signs of teen aggression and violence:
Getting into frequent fights
Yelling
Shouting
Possession of weapons such as knives and guns
Bullying
Damaging property
Manipulative behavior
The Impact of Unaddressed Teen Family Violence
If you leave your teen’s violent behavior unaddressed, it can have a lasting impact on their lives. The effects of unaddressed teen violence include the following:
Academic decline
Problems with law enforcement
The breakdown of interpersonal relationships
Suspension or expulsion from school
Social isolation
Drug and substance abuse
Professional Help and Treatment Options for Teen Violence
If your teen’s family aggression is hard to manage at home, you should seek professional help. Some of the common types of treatment offered to adolescents for teen violence include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is among the most popular and effective evidence-based treatment approaches. It helps teens reshape and change their mindset from negative to positive. CBT is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. If your teen can learn how to change their thoughts, their behavior will ultimately change.
CBT utilizes three core techniques to help teens with aggressive behaviors. These include the following:
Cognitive Restructuring: This exercise helps teens identify thought patterns they fall back on. Once your teen identifies their negative thoughts, they are guided to reframe them into more positive ones.
Guided Discovery: This exercise helps the therapist understand your teen’s point of view. The therapist can then help your teen broaden their thoughts by assisting them to see the issue from another perspective.
Cognitive Journaling: This exercise helps teens overcome intrusive thoughts or negative thought patterns. Through journaling, your teen can set goals and record their progress during therapy.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is an evidence-based therapy approach that helps teens stop their destructive and violent behaviors. It is similar to CBT but starts by addressing the behavior before addressing negative thought patterns.
It uses three main approaches to help teens change their behavior:
Mindfulness: This skill allows teens to appreciate the present. It helps them be aware of their surroundings and how their behavior harms others. Mindfulness can help your teen slow down their thoughts and assess the implications of their actions.
Distress Tolerance: This skill helps teens accept their current situation and tolerate stressful events. Instead of focusing on the ideal situation, they learn to tolerate negative stimuli.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: This skill helps teens understand how their behavior harms their family members and friends. It aims to help teens verbalize their desires and foster positive interactions with others.
Group Therapy
Violent teens can benefit from group therapy as they are more comfortable sharing their issues with their peers. Group therapy creates a safe and supportive environment for teens to build confidence and share their struggles.
Group therapy at NexStep is facilitated by a mental health practitioner who guides teens through the topic of discussion. A typical session involves 6-12 teens to ensure each share their feelings. At NexStep, we incorporate activities in group therapy sessions to help teens build a strong connection with their peers.
Long-Term Strategies for Preventing Teen Domestic Aggression
Every parent or guardian wants to see their teen grow up and become a valuable member of society. It can be heart-breaking watching your teen exhibit negative behavior such as violence. As such, you should use the following strategies to ensure your teen’s aggression does not get out of control:
Fostering a Positive Family Environment
Teenagers learn from their environment. If they are used to seeing you and other family members become violent, they quickly learn that violence is the only way to solve issues. As a parent or guardian, you should foster a positive environment that teaches tolerance and patience. Be a positive influence on your teen’s life.
Promoting Emotional Intelligence
Emotionally intelligent teens understand how their behaviors affect those around them. Teaching your teen how to be emotionally aware makes them more likely to regulate their emotions.
Building Healthy Coping Mechanisms and Routines
Blowing off steam through physical activity can prevent violence in teens. As a parent or guardian, you should encourage your teen to develop healthy coping mechanisms like art, music, or sports. These activities calm the mind and enable your teen to channel their emotions into creativity rather than destruction.
Teen Violence Treatment at NexStep Teen Academy
If your teen’s family aggression is hard to manage at home, you should seek professional help. At NexStep Teen Academy, we offer specialized outpatient care for teens with various mental health issues. We provide high-quality treatment to ensure your teen overcomes their aggressive and violent issues. Our highly qualified staff ensures that your teen’s underlying conditions are addressed to help them overcome their aggressive tendencies.
NexStep’s 5-day-a-week outpatient program caters for teens in Arizona. We use varying counseling approaches to allow your teen to overcome their violent behavior. Call our team today and learn more about how our program can help with your specific situation.
Normal teen behavior may include mood swings or outbursts. However, if your teen reacts violently in specific situations or when asked about certain topics, it may indicate an underlying issue. The severity and frequency of violent outbursts may also signal an underlying problem.
If your teen becomes a danger to themselves and others, it may be necessary to involve law enforcement. Seek professional help before the violence escalates to a point where your teen may be arrested.
Teen Family Violence Intervention
Table of Contents
Teens being moody and defiant is common. Sometimes, this defiant behavior may become aggressive and even violent. This leaves parents, guardians, and educators wondering what to do when their teen’s anger escalates to violent behavior. Teen aggression and violence are warning signs that your teen is struggling with something else. Teen violent behavior may manifest in various ways, such as getting into frequent fights or verbal abuse. Witnessing such behavior from your teen can be both heartbreaking and concerning.
Parents need to address aggressive and violent behaviors immediately to prevent further escalation. This article aims to help parents, caregivers, and educators understand how to intervene when teens exhibit violent behaviors. The article will also highlight different treatment options available for teens with violent behavioral tendencies.
If you need immediate assistance for your teen’s violence issues, give our team at NexStep Teen Academy a call today.
Intervention Strategies for Teen Family Violence
It can be heartbreaking watching your teen exhibit violent behavior toward you or other family members. You can take several intervention measures to address your teen’s aggressive behavior. These include the following:
Immediate De-escalation During Violent Episodes
If your teen has become violent with you, it is important to de-escalate the situation. Ask your teen what is bothering them and create a conducive environment for self-expression. Remind them that it is important to talk about their issues. If your teen needs space to cool off, do not pressure them into talking. Give them time to reset and talk about the aggression later.
As a parent or guardian, you should always remain cool in such situations. You risk escalating the situation further if you cannot maintain your composure. When in crisis, maintain a calm voice when addressing your teen. Pay attention to your breathing to ensure you keep calm. If you allow yourself to lose control of the situation, your teen may become more agitated and continue with their violent outbursts.
Parents and guardians should be empathetic and look for the emotional cause of teen violent behavior. During a heated argument, validate your teen’s emotions and show them compassion. The last thing they want to hear is that their feelings are misplaced. Violence is seen as protective, keeping them away from more vulnerable emotions and topics. Empathy allows teens to feel validated and understood, and the situation will de-escalate.
Creating A Family Safety Plan
Keeping the rest of your family safe is crucial when teen violence gets out of hand. Sometimes, creating a family safety plan is vital to keep them safe. It is always important to be mentally and physically prepared for an emergency. When creating a family safety plan, you need to consider the following:
Setting Clear Boundaries and Consequences
It can be challenging to set boundaries for aggressive teens. However, your teen should understand that their behavior has consequences. When setting boundaries for violent teens, communicate the boundaries with love and not anger. You should not show them who the boss is but instead show empathy and concern. The boundaries you set should be reasonable. Do not set meaningless consequences that your teen will unlikely follow. If your teen crosses the boundary, follow it up with an action. Do not just threaten repercussions, you will have to follow through.
Causes of Teen Family Violence
Aggression is usually a symptom or a mask of an underlying issue. Many teens feel the need to be seen as tough instead of embracing their vulnerabilities. Some causes of teen aggression and violence include the following:
Early Warning Signs of Teen Family Aggression
Parents should look out for the following signs of teen aggression and violence:
The Impact of Unaddressed Teen Family Violence
If you leave your teen’s violent behavior unaddressed, it can have a lasting impact on their lives. The effects of unaddressed teen violence include the following:
Professional Help and Treatment Options for Teen Violence
If your teen’s family aggression is hard to manage at home, you should seek professional help. Some of the common types of treatment offered to adolescents for teen violence include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is among the most popular and effective evidence-based treatment approaches. It helps teens reshape and change their mindset from negative to positive. CBT is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. If your teen can learn how to change their thoughts, their behavior will ultimately change.
CBT utilizes three core techniques to help teens with aggressive behaviors. These include the following:
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is an evidence-based therapy approach that helps teens stop their destructive and violent behaviors. It is similar to CBT but starts by addressing the behavior before addressing negative thought patterns.
It uses three main approaches to help teens change their behavior:
Group Therapy
Violent teens can benefit from group therapy as they are more comfortable sharing their issues with their peers. Group therapy creates a safe and supportive environment for teens to build confidence and share their struggles.
Group therapy at NexStep is facilitated by a mental health practitioner who guides teens through the topic of discussion. A typical session involves 6-12 teens to ensure each share their feelings. At NexStep, we incorporate activities in group therapy sessions to help teens build a strong connection with their peers.
Long-Term Strategies for Preventing Teen Domestic Aggression
Every parent or guardian wants to see their teen grow up and become a valuable member of society. It can be heart-breaking watching your teen exhibit negative behavior such as violence. As such, you should use the following strategies to ensure your teen’s aggression does not get out of control:
Fostering a Positive Family Environment
Teenagers learn from their environment. If they are used to seeing you and other family members become violent, they quickly learn that violence is the only way to solve issues. As a parent or guardian, you should foster a positive environment that teaches tolerance and patience. Be a positive influence on your teen’s life.
Promoting Emotional Intelligence
Emotionally intelligent teens understand how their behaviors affect those around them. Teaching your teen how to be emotionally aware makes them more likely to regulate their emotions.
Building Healthy Coping Mechanisms and Routines
Blowing off steam through physical activity can prevent violence in teens. As a parent or guardian, you should encourage your teen to develop healthy coping mechanisms like art, music, or sports. These activities calm the mind and enable your teen to channel their emotions into creativity rather than destruction.
Teen Violence Treatment at NexStep Teen Academy
If your teen’s family aggression is hard to manage at home, you should seek professional help. At NexStep Teen Academy, we offer specialized outpatient care for teens with various mental health issues. We provide high-quality treatment to ensure your teen overcomes their aggressive and violent issues. Our highly qualified staff ensures that your teen’s underlying conditions are addressed to help them overcome their aggressive tendencies.
NexStep’s 5-day-a-week outpatient program caters for teens in Arizona. We use varying counseling approaches to allow your teen to overcome their violent behavior. Call our team today and learn more about how our program can help with your specific situation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Normal teen behavior may include mood swings or outbursts. However, if your teen reacts violently in specific situations or when asked about certain topics, it may indicate an underlying issue. The severity and frequency of violent outbursts may also signal an underlying problem.
If your teen becomes a danger to themselves and others, it may be necessary to involve law enforcement. Seek professional help before the violence escalates to a point where your teen may be arrested.