B. Janet Hibbs
B. Janet Hibbs
B. Janet Hibbs, LMFT, Ph.D. is a recognized authority on family issues, with a focus on parent-child and partner relationships. After watching her own college student struggle with mental health, she worked with Dr. Anthony Rostain to help him recover. Later, she and Rostain wrote The Stressed Years of Their Lives, a guide for parents of college students who want to help support their kids’ mental health. The co-authors teamed up again, with You’re Not Done Yet: Parenting Young Adults in an Age of Uncertainty (2024). Parents and families are the primary safety net for today’s young adults, who increasingly rely on them to support their educational, personal and career choices. This book offers the support and solid guidance needed for this complicated stage of parenting. Dr. Hibbs’ combined academic, clinical, and commercial writing backgrounds blend seamlessly in engaging public and professional talks. Her presentations draw on 30 years of expert clinical experience treating individuals, couples, and families. She provides effective strategies for coping with the many issues–including stress–that parents and students face. Dually licensed as a psychologist and a family therapist, Dr. Hibbs holds the highest credential in the marriage and family therapy field, as an Approved Supervisor for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
In addition to The Stressed Years of Their Lives and You’re Not Done Yet, Dr. Hibbs is the author of Try to See It My Way: Being Fair in Love and Marriage. She is a popular radio talk show guest, with appearances on The Diane Riehm show, WHYY, NPR’s “Voices in the Family” and “Radio Times,” and on national and regional TV. Dr. Hibbs has been quoted in national newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Dr. Hibbs honed her presentation skills during 15 years of graduate teaching experience on the faculties of Hahnemann (Drexel) University, the Family Institute of Philadelphia, and Widener University. Prior professional public speaking engagements include The Smithsonian Institute Speakers series, keynotes at national professional conferences, national and international k-12 schools and colleges, as well as regional libraries and community groups. Additionally, Dr. Hibbs received the 2021 Psychologist in the Media Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association.
Dr. Hibbs is co-founder of Contextual Therapy Associates, where she has a private practice in Philadelphia, PA. She and her husband have been married for over 30 years and have two sons.
|
Hardback
|
A clear-eyed, optimistic guide for parents with adult children who need help navigating the challenges to launching an independent life.
Times were already tough for young adults looking for ways to start living independent lives after high school and college: rents were up, wages were down, student loan debt was burdensome, then the Covi...Read More
|
|
Trade Paperback
|
From two leading child and adolescent mental health experts comes a guide for the parents of every college and college-bound student who want to know what’s normal mental health and behavior, what’s not, and how to intervene before it’s too late.
“The title says it all...Chock full of practical tools, resources and the wisdom tha...Read More
|
Parenting Young Adults To Independence
On the cusp of young adulthood, a period full of tumultuous transitions, expert advice for parents evaporates. Yet, today’s parents are the primary safety net for their young adults, as the generational baton-pass takes longer than ever. Young adults, who are adapting to unprecedented challenges in a rapidly changing world, increasingly rely on their parents to support their educational, personal and career choices. Parents and their children now enter the longest stage of their relationship–Adult to Adult. Navigating the uncertainties of this era impacts the well-being of both generations. This talk fills the guidance gap with practical advice and reassurance, based on our decades of clinical expertise. We extend a helping hand with solid advice for this complicated stage of parenting. We share what parents and young adults can expect, with effective communication skills to develop a collaborative relationship for the key conversations ahead.
Launch Delays: Supporting Parents of Youth and Young Adults
Drs. Hibbs and Rostain discuss youth’s educational journeys and the launch into young adulthood, through the lens of learning differences, executive functioning difficulties, mental health challenges and neuro-atypical development. We share professional and personal experiences, and impart important lessons about the specific challenges faced by parents, educators and youth that encounter these issues, amplified by the demands of online learning.
The talk offers effective strategies for addressing screen time and social media, time and task management, anxiety and depression. We emphasize the vital importance of self-care activities that promote resilience, which parents, educators and youth need for healthy coping.
The Stressed Years of Their Lives: K-12
Childhood is evaporating into a life filled with over-scheduled activities and screen time, and adolescence has become a high-stakes, time-starved pressure cooker of stress, fear, and perfectionism for kids. The pandemic has amplified these secular trends. Many parents experience anxiety, wondering, “Will my child be OK?” and “Will they be ready for the challenges ahead?” We believe that parents can provide a sturdy safety net, supporting their child’s resilience. Based on The Stressed Years of Their Lives, this talk provides practical advice and information for parents as they partner with educators to ready their students for a successful launch to college and early young adulthood. We review the unique stressors of this age and reveal the keys to health promotion and harm reduction.
The Stressed Years of Their Lives: College
Parents today wonder, “What’s going on?” as they absorb the daily reports of campus hazards, and skyrocketing rates of college mental health problems. Increasingly, both generations also stress over higher college costs and worry, “Is college worth it?” We share how educational leaders debate balancing the traditional emphasis on academic excellence with the value of non-cognitive, resilience-building instruction; while building college to career linkages. This illuminating talk provides plenty of tips for key conversations that both parents, college counselors, faculty and administrators can use to discern normal adolescent and young adult development, and better support the emotional well-being of students.
Try To See It My Way: Keys to a Better Marriage Based on Fairness
Most problems in marriage boil down to one word: fairness. Feeling fairly treated is the key to making love last. Yet despite the fact that most of us learned to tell right from wrong by age three, many couples disagree about what’s fair. Dr. B. Janet Hibbs has been married for over 20 years, and she has experienced many of the struggles that come with the territory. As a well-known expert in the treatment of couples, she’s in a unique position to offer effective strategies for coping with the many issues that couples face. The good news is that you can learn to be fair.
“Psychologist’s guide for parents on ‘uncertain times’ of young adulthood”
“How to support your partner when you don’t agree with them one bit”
“How to Help Stressed-Out Teenagers”
“How To Help Your Child Reduce Their Stress And Thrive During College”
“‘The Stressed Years of Their Lives'”
“Is Your Child Emotionally Ready for College?”
“College is important. So is mental health. Here’s how to study without burning out”
“Tips for Dealing With the Void Left as a Child Heads to College”
“Helping Your College-Bound Child Learn Independence”
“How parents can help college students get through increased stress”
“How parents should help their kids cope with college depression”
NAMI Radio interviewed Dr. Hibbs about The Stressed Years of Their Lives.
“College Students (And Their Parents) Face A Campus Mental Health ‘Epidemic'”
“The Lisa Show: Stressed Generation Z, Freezer Meals and Meal Prep, Health and Wellness Goals”
“90 Percent of Generation Z Says They’re Stressed Out. Here’s Why.”
“Parenting college students in the age of COVID-19”
Dr. Rostain and Dr. Hibbs named as Plenary Speakers for the 2020 ACPA Convention.
“[B’s] messages were—and are—timely, thoughtful, honest, well-researched, practical, and hopeful.”
— Kelly Herrington, Director of College Counseling & Student Services, University Prep“The President’s Advisory Group of Bryn Mawr College loved the blend of research, pragmatism , and open personal testimonial shared. This book and the presentation by the author provided just the right elixir for guidance counselors helping parents cope with the heightened anxiety of today’s students. “
— Cheryl Lynn Horsey, PhD, Chief Enrollment Officer, Bryn Mawr College“I just wanted to thank you profusely for the fabulous presentation yesterday. It was simply wonderful — highly informative and personable!”
— Jan Sigmon, YPO Big Apple Gold Board Member and CEO/Founder of The University Playbook“‘I thought the authors’ presentation was excellent—very, very engaging and informative.’ ‘Their presentation was great!’ These are just two of the comments in response to a presentation at Villanova University provided by Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain to a group of faculty, advisors, and staff from area universities. The material was excellent and incredibly relevant to the students in higher education we all work with or for parents with children preparing for higher ed.”
— Nancy Mott, Ed.D., Director of Learning Support Services“What a team! [Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain] both have a gift for connecting with [their] audience and impacting their thinking. Throughout the remainder of the conference, I overheard people talking about [their] presentation, particularly Jensen’s journey. Our goal for the conference was to provide information and offer tools, but most importantly to inspire hope. [Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain] both accomplished all of that and we are so grateful.”
— Susan Berman, C.O.O., The HELP Group“We have received numerous compliments as to the material that [Drs. Hibbs and Rostain] presented here at Alvernia University. The presentation on mental health and well-being was timely and relevant to the student populations that we serve, well done.”
— Dr. Rudy Ruth, Executive Director of the Holleran Center for Global and Community Engagement, Alvernia University“[B and Tony] did a wonderful job sharing with our attendees! Their slides and commentary were right on target for what our educational leaders needed to hear and take back to their schools for impact. Indeed, mental health is so incredibly important as we teach and develop students for college and life.”
— Margaret ‘Sissy’ Wade, Ed.D., Executive Director, The Heads Network“We have been receiving wonderful feedback about [B’s and Tony’s] talk. Folks found it to be informative, engaging and helpful! I’m so glad [they] were able to join us.”
— Natan Gottesman, Ph.D., Psychologist, Friends Select School, k-12 Quaker School“The speakers today were outstanding. I loved their presentation, their delivery and their expertise. Thank you for finding them and bringing them to campus. Our lunch conversation was one of the best we have ever had after a speaker.”
— Kate O’Donnell, LCSW, Lower School Counselor, Colorado AcademyPraise for You’re Not Done Yet “Rostain and Hibbs reference the latest research, integrated with their own professional and personal experiences, to dispense soothing assurance and solid advice for those struggling during a complicated stage of parenting … Deeply researched … this valuable resource offers compassionate, actionable advice for families going through a transition increasingly beset with unprecedented challenges.”
— Booklist“Hibbs and Rostain excel at explaining large-scale social trends, and the empathetic explorations of how parents and adult children perceive the world will help both find common ground. Not-quite-empty nesters will appreciate the guidance.”
— Publishers Weekly“A must-read guide for parents of grown children who are not yet adulting. Hibbs and Rostain explain what our kids are up against, and the role parents play in helping them continue to grow and ultimately thrive. This book could not be more timely, and it delivers game-changing advice that parents are yearning for.”
—Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of Your Turn: How to Be An Adult and How to Raise an Adult
“A compassionate and sensitive look at the mental health challenges faced by twentysomethings in today’s rapidly changing world that will help parents of people this age better understand and communicate with their kids. It’s a terrific resource for parents, and their young adult children will have much to learn from it, too.”
—Laurence Steinberg, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Temple University and author of You and Your Adult Child: How to Grow Together in Challenging Times
Praise for The Stressed Years of Their Lives “This is the type of book every parent should read before discussions of college even begin. Packing in just the right amount of statistics and real-world scenarios, two doctors offer sound advice on how parents can better prepare their children for the challenging college years that lie ahead of them.”
— Kirkus
“This book is a hopeful and essential guide that promotes emotional health and mental fitness in young people. The authors address mental illness and offer models for prevention, treatment, and recovery. A must-read for parents, educators, and clinicians.”
— Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. congressman, author of A Common Struggle, and sponsor of Paritytrack.org
“Childhood is disappearing for young adults, with the pressure to perform, the seductions of social media and the fears of an uncertain future, as stress, anxiety and depression are reaching epidemic proportions. I can think of no better guide than The Stressed Years of Their Lives for overwhelmed parents and stressed-out kids for navigating these turbulent times. This is required reading for the college set.”
— Brigid Schulte, author of the New York Times bestselling Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play when No One Has the Time, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, director of The Better Life Lab at New America
“College-related anxiety and pressure on both parents and children begins long before the admissions process, changes and intensifies in college and has been escalating, alarming educators, mental health professionals and, of course, families themselves. Drs. Hibbs and Rostain have battled in this arena with courage, insight and a wealth of professional training and experience. This wonderful book defines and explores the many, varied minefields of the college years with candor and compassion, and provides parents with practical advice and support about what to look for, what to ask and say, and when and how to intervene. Having seen these pressures both as a parent and university president, I am grateful that there is now this long-overdue and extraordinary guide. It should be required reading for all parents.”
— Judith Rodin, former Provost of Yale University and President Emerita of the University of Pennsylvania
“Hibbs and Rostain have done a great service for parents trying to guide their kids through the transition to adulthood and college life in this high stress world. They’ve written an engaging and accessible book full of common sense guidance and tremendous clinical wisdom. They provide both specific advice about the important issues to consider and what parents and kids can do to be best positioned to address those issues in order to succeed and thrive.”
— Victor Schwartz, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at The Jed Foundation and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine
“Drs. Hibbs and Rostain have a national reputation as highly knowledgeable and skilled adolescent psychotherapists, and for good reason. This book is filled with both clinical vignettes and research findings to help illuminate the very personal stories of what these young people struggle with, as well as some disturbing statistics about the mental health crisis in high schools and colleges. If you want to learn about adolescents and how to help them, please read this book first.”
— Daniel Gottlieb, psychologist, nationally-bestselling author of Letters to Sam and host of “Voices in the Family”
“The Stressed Years of Their Lives is an informative, thought-provoking and—perhaps most importantly—conversation-starting curation of mental health information that all parents need to read. With robust research woven throughout deeply compelling stories of real young adults and their families, the book paints a clear picture of the struggles that young adults of today are facing; the way parents, and young adults, and schools can be partners in success; and the message that help is available and there are so many reasons to have hope.”
— Alison K. Malmon, founder and executive director of Active MindsBook This Speaker
x
