Books, trusted organisations and practical explanations of positive psychology and coaching. Start with a family question, explore the evidence and follow the links to substantive source material.
Attention, independent thinking and connection deserve a place alongside academic achievement.
Students aged 15 · OECD countries · Percentage reporting each experience
Separate indicators, not parts of a whole. The study covered 91 countries and economies; these figures are OECD averages.
Read PISA 2025 Results, Volume I ↗Adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 · Percentage showing signs of problematic use
WHO’s 2022 survey covered nearly 280,000 young people across 44 countries and regions in Europe, central Asia and Canada. “Problematic” concerns loss of control and negative consequences, not all social media use.
Read WHO’s findings and recommendations ↗We use their answers to choose practical goals. These population studies do not evaluate the coaching offered here or establish that coaching causes better academic results.
Positive psychology explores the conditions that help people flourish, while making room for difficulty. Book links lead to publisher information and available samples; free introductions and papers are labelled. The summaries are paraphrases, and the family and reading questions are original prompts written for this website.
An accessible introduction to wellbeing through positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Useful for parents thinking about how achievement fits within a fulfilling life.
Family question: When does your child feel interested, connected or proud of a worthwhile effort?
Read the publisher’s book overview ↗A practitioner’s field guide connecting strengths research with activities and reflection. For parents who want to understand how strengths such as curiosity, kindness and perseverance can become practical resources.
Family question: Which strength did your child use today, and where might it help again?
Book overview & sample chapters ↗A readable introduction to the VIA character strengths. Begin by noticing strengths in everyday behaviour and discussing when they are useful. This page can be read without taking a survey.
Family question: What do you notice in yourself that a school report might miss?
Explore the strengths ↗The university’s explanation of Seligman’s wellbeing framework. A useful companion to Flourish for exploring engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment alongside positive emotion.
Family question: Which part of wellbeing would benefit from a little more attention this week?
Read the PERMA introduction ↗A foundational 2005 paper examining positive psychology and activities such as using strengths in new ways. Helpful for understanding the research behind the ideas; its findings are not a promise of results for an individual teenager.
Reading question: Who took part, what was measured and how might that differ from my child’s situation?
Read the full paper (PDF) ↗A collection of coaching frameworks and exercises. Parents can use it to understand the range of tools a coach may draw on; the young person’s needs determine which approach is useful.
Coaching question: What is this exercise intended to help with, and how will we know whether it is useful?
Explore the book at Kogan Page ↗Choose the source that fits your question: everyday communication, a concern about wellbeing, or how to select professional support.
Practical guidance on listening, empathy and communication. A useful starting point when conversations at home have become tense.
Read the communication guide ↗Psychologist Lisa Damour explains ways parents can support confidence as teenagers become more independent.
Explore confidence advice ↗A UK charity’s guides to feelings, behaviour, school difficulties and mental health, with routes to further support.
Find a parent guide ↗International evidence on social media and gaming, including the difference between ordinary use and patterns that disrupt daily life.
Read the findings ↗A professional body’s introduction to collaborative, goal-focused coaching and the kinds of development people seek through it. General guidance, not evidence of a guaranteed result for a child.
Understand professional coaching ↗Learn what individual accreditation assesses and why experience, supervision and continuing development matter when choosing a coach.
Read the accreditation standards ↗The shared professional code for coaches, mentors and supervisors. Helpful for understanding the standards and accountability a coaching relationship should involve.
Explore the code and its purpose ↗A plain-English comparison of learning, life, performance and executive coaching, and how I combine positive psychology with practical educational support.
Compare coaching approaches →These examples from the wider evidence base are not a fixed test battery. Purpose, age-appropriateness, permissions and the young person’s consent come first.
Explores autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relationships, purpose and self-acceptance. It is not a measure of mental illness or a single verdict on wellbeing.
Learn about the measure ↗Creates a relative profile across 24 strengths. Everyone has all 24; rankings can change and should not be used to compare, label or select people.
Learn about the measure ↗Profiles positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment, with added context. It has no diagnostic meaning or clinical cut-offs.
Learn about the measure ↗Separates the felt presence of meaning from the active search for it. Searching is not automatically a problem; context determines what the score may mean.
Learn about the measure ↗A brief measure of a person’s overall judgement of life satisfaction. It does not explain why, assess every life area or diagnose mental health.
Learn about the measure ↗Explores general belief in one’s ability to cope with difficult or unexpected demands through personal action. It measures perceived agency—not actual competence. The developers advise against use below age 12.
Learn about the measure ↗Distinguishes goal-related agency from the capacity to find alternative pathways. Designed for adults; it is a research reference here, rather than a questionnaire for younger children.
Learn about the measure ↗Explores personal, relational and contextual resources that may support resilience. It should inform a contextual conversation—not produce a diagnostic label.
Learn about the measure ↗Prompts reflection on perseverance and consistency of interest. It is not diagnostic, suitable for high-stakes decisions or proof that persistence is always the right response.
Learn about the measure ↗Participation is voluntary and age-appropriate. Scores are snapshots to discuss in context, not labels, diagnoses or a way to rank young people. Language, culture, timing and the version used all matter.
I review progress against goals agreed with the learner: what they tried, what changed and what they learned. A questionnaire may support that conversation; it does not replace it.
Your child may need a calmer way to approach school, the courage to speak up, or help finding a first step when everything feels a little too much. We begin with their experience and what matters to your family.
Where do we begin?
With a complimentary 15–20-minute parent conversation.
For ages 8–18, the language, activities and parent involvement are adapted to your child’s age and readiness. You do not need to arrive with all the answers.