Your Zen Friend
by Lauren Wolfe MS, LPC
Latest episode
5 Ways to Create More Connection and Calm This Summer
5 Ways to Create More Connection and Calm This Summer
About this podcast
Ever wish you had a zen friend? Someone who could help you ease your tween or tween’s anxiety, while also supporting you, so parenting was more peaceful?
Well good news, host Lauren Wolfe, a therapist and mom who’s made it through those anxious teen years is here to offer parents some zen!
A full-length episode comes out every Tuesday. And "A Drop of Zen," a short guided meditation or a "Zen Bonus Boost," a mini episode, come out every Friday.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 208 episodes
- 5 Ways to Create More Connection and Calm This Summer · 22 min · Season 3 Episode 129Send Lauren a text! Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations about our summer ahead. I just had a family vacation with some real highs and lows. I'm talking about temps in the…
- Fear of Being Awkward: Understanding Today's Anxious Teen · 24 min · Season 3 Episode 128Send Lauren a text! Does it feel like your teen is more afraid of being "awkward," than you ever were at their age? As a therapist working with kids and teens, I've noticed…
- Chaos to Calm: Managing Your End of School Year Stress · 20 min · Season 3 Episode 127Send Lauren a text! Is this time of year feeling absolutely insane for you as a parent? Between field trips, graduations, concerts, and athletic awards, these final weeks of…
- Why Anxiety Treatment Seems To Fail: What Parents Need to Know · 32 min · Season 3 Episode 126Send Lauren a text! Are you and your tween or teen struggling with anxiety treatment and wondering why it doesn't seem to be "working" right away? In this episode, I'll share the…
- Anxiety Red Flags: When to Seek Help for Your Anxious Tween or Teen · 27 min · Season 3 Episode 125Send Lauren a text! Are you starting to notice signs of anxiety in your tween or teen and wondering if it might be time to get seek support? In this episode, I’ll share how to…
- Drop of Zen ~ A Joyful Moment · 6 minSend Lauren a text! Parenting a tween or teen with anxiety is challenging! This Drop of Zen, a short guided mediation, is designed to offer you support and self care. This…
- The Parent's Roadmap to OCD Treatment: Choosing a Therapist, ERP, and Home Support · 31 min · Season 3 Episode 124Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I focus on how parents can find qualified therapists who treat OCD in children and teens, understand ERP therapy (the gold standard in OCD…
- Anxiety or Something More? A Parent's Guide to Recognizing OCD · 41 min · Season 3 Episode 123Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I explore the key differences between OCD and anxiety in tweens and teens. Learn how to recognize the signs and identify when your child…
- Smartphones & Anxiety: Setting Healthy Boundaries for Tweens & Teens · 32 min · Season 3 Episode 122Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I explore the link between smartphone use and anxiety in tweens and teens. I'll introduce the term "problematic smartphone use," explain what…
- To Reassure or Not to Reassure: What to Do When Your Tween or Teen is Worried · 21 min · Season 3 Episode 121Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I tackle a common dilemma parents face: should you reassure your anxious tween or teen when they're worried, or could that actually make…
- Parenting is Ridiculous, Keeping it Real as a Therapist Mom · 28 min · Season 3 Episode 120Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I'm taking off my therapist hat and getting real about the challenges of parenting - especially when it comes to raising tweens and teens…
- Easing Sunday Scaries for Tweens and Teens · 22 min · Season 3 Episode 119Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I'm tackling the Sunday Scaries - those end-of-weekend worries that so many tweens and teens experience. If your child's weekend joy turns to…
- How to Stop Walking on Eggshells with Your Anxious Tween or Teen · 24 min · Season 3 Episode 118Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I'm diving into something SO many parents tell me about - that feeling of walking on eggshells around their anxious tween or teen. That sense…
- Social Anxiety in Tweens and Teens and How to Help as a Parent · 24 min · Season 3 Episode 117Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I’m talking about a struggle that’s super common for tweens and teens: social anxiety. I’ll cover what it is, how to spot it, and, most…
- Supporting Your Anxious Teen While Managing Your Anxiety · 40 min · Season 3 Episode 116Send Lauren a text! In today’s episode, I’m answering our first listener question from Anna, a fellow Zen Friend, who’s struggling with her own anxiety triggered by her…
- Zen Bonus Boost ~ The Importance of Validating Feelings: Yours and Your Children's · 9 minSend Lauren a text! Welcome to your Zen Bonus Boost! This is a short (and hopefully sweet) episode designed to offer support, strategies and tips for parents of anxious tweens…
- Have Less Anxiety and More Balance in 2025 · 34 min · Season 3 Episode 115Send Lauren a text! In this episode, we’re diving into 3 ways to bring more balance to you and your tween/teen in 2025! 🎉 ✨ Here’s what we’ll cover in this episode: 1️⃣ Reducing…
- Anxiety, Routines and Holiday Traditions · 19 min · Season 3 Episode 114Send Lauren a text! In this episode, I’m diving into routines and predictability—how they can help (and sometimes hinder) your anxious tween or teen—and exploring the joy and…
- Setting Boundaries During the Holiday Season with Vicki Smith · 42 minSend Lauren a text! Feeling overwhelmed with all the holiday to do's? Guest and friend of the pod, Vicki Smith will help us to clear our schedules of the stuff that doesn't serve…
- Have More Zen and Less Stress for the Holidays · 32 min · Season 3 Episode 112Send Lauren a text! In this festive episode, I’m sharing how I’ve shifted my holiday traditions to create more peace and joy during this busy season. Whether you're juggling the…
