Teenagers often face psychological pressures—academic, social, and parental—alongside physiological changes like puberty and brain development. This combination frequently leads to mental health struggles, with anxiety and panic attacks being especially common. A 2023 WHO survey found 87% of adolescents regularly experience mental health issues, a problem worsened post-COVID. Despite this, teens remain a neglected demographic. The growing disconnect between teens, parents, and educators, and the lack of trusted adult support, inspired the creation of the Empower Teens Program in May 2017.
It’s 2025 and the Empower Teens Program, is currently in it’s 8th year, with hundred’s of lives impacted. The foundation of this program stands on four main pillars, each of which is backed by science, to nurture, nourish and replenish the adolescent brain resulting in improved mental health and well-being. Adolescents experience solace and warmth under each of these pillars during every session.
Spending time in nature is shown to reduce stress levels, increase attention span and enhance creativity. All of which contribute to optimal brain development and cognitive functioning in children and adolescents. Group unstructured play time builds healthy neural pathways, enhances cognitive functioning, ignites creativity, enhances emotional regulation, and releases happy hormones such as endorphins and oxytocin.
Adolescence is a period of experiencing intense emotions. Quiet reflection time followed by journaling encourages teenagers to articulate and understand their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This helps in gaining emotional maturity. The process of putting their thoughts into words can be incredibly cathartic, helps release pent-up emotions, reduces stress and anxiety.
Simple breathing techniques such as Box-Breathing have proven to reset the nervous system from a state of anxiety and restlessness to calm and collected. Mindfulness Practice brings in present moment awareness, eliminates the fear of the future and worries from the past. Gratitude Practice has been backed by evidence to reset the brain’s thinking patterns from a scarcity mindset to an abundant mindset.
Adolescents are thought leaders in progress. Their creativity needs to be fueled by deeper meaningful conversations around topics that are important to them. Most common themes are Dealing with Failures, Peer-Pressure, Body Shaming, Sexuality and Relationships, Toxic Friendships, Study Skills, Managing Anxiety and Stress, Vision Boards & Manifestations, Time Management, Identifying Core Values, Academic Accountability, to name a few. Our group sessions encourage debate and brainstorming that ignites individuality to be expressed and respected. A safe-space conversation and a sense of community spirit is just the right recipe to help teenagers feel seen, heard, understood, and validated.
