More Dreams And Less Devices Can Lead To Improved Teen Wellbeing

In 2006, I started an experiment with teens and young adults by asking them three questions:

1. What is your career dream?
2. What is the plan for making it a reality?
3. How can I help support your plan?

This experiment led to comprehensive live and online programs helping teens find and follow dreams as a path to improved confidence. Dream Lab for Teens gives adolescents the tools to achieve goals and find new confidence through their imagination.

In an American Psychological Association (APA) survey, more than 50% of teens reported constantly or often feeling sad, overwhelmed, or anxious. While much of this crisis can be attributed to many teens' digital addiction, experts also attribute teen mental health issues to a lack of resources for recognizing and acting on their untapped potential.

Dream Lab for Teens launched in 2007 when a principal at a new high school in Red Hook, Brooklyn, needed a program for her students to help them find and follow their calling. I had never worked with teens before, but I decided to take a leap of faith. I worked with 40 14-year-olds and guided them through a reworked version of the Dream Lab program I originally developed for adults. It was exciting and impactful. I learned a lot about the students. More importantly, they learned a lot about themselves through each other. Since seeing how the program transformed their lives, I’ve been working to scale it.

In the fall of 2022, we partnered with an education disruptor based in India, Learn with Leaders, to run programs for students worldwide. In the summer of 2022, we partnered with Step-Up in Omaha, Nebraska, an organization that works with 14- to 21-year-olds to give them real-life skills for obtaining a job and, subsequently, a career. Our next Dream Lab, in partnership with Learn with Leaders, launches in October.

Each of the programs we designed and implemented with our partners enabled these young leaders to embrace the value of compassion by:

• Developing compassionate leadership skills
• Learning more about themselves and how to interact with their communities
• Gaining a deeper understanding of how to empathize with others
• Realizing how to be true to themselves and follow their dreams
• Discovering how small acts make a big difference in the world
• Broadening their horizons to give them new perspectives on life

At the end of each program, the students present final projects encapsulating their compassionate leadership ambitions as part of Dream Shows. After the students presented, each cohort came together to choose classmates and their respective projects to represent the program as a whole. Here are those six projects from 2022:

1. Natalia (Columbia): An educational program that prioritizes personal development and teaches students to have self-compassion as they tackle challenges presented by their education
2. Raisa (Canada): An app called Unlimited that allows students to manage their time, cope with stress, and understand how they learn best.
3. Zaara (Singapore): An initiative that reaches out to kids in Myanmar and teaches them English every week through Zoom
4. Amy (U.S.): A career as a makeup artist instilling self-confidence in older immigrant women in her community
5. Elijah (U.S.): A movie theater that offers more of an experience with unique features like a trampoline park
6. Ximena (U.S.): A business that helps people embrace and love fitness as a way to build self-esteem

Since finishing the programs, the students have experienced a number of positive changes in their lives including a personal growth plan for fun, school, health, friends and family that ties to their dreams. Their goals have become more clear as they’ve learned to implement small but powerful changes. They have also experienced a growth in their confidence that has allowed them to better tackle challenges they face and strengthen their respective identities within their supportive communities and the world.

We’re looking for other organizations to partner with us on our mission of improving teen mental health through dreams. If you’d like to learn more or partner with us, feel free to reach out to us here.