Jeff Levin began his professional career as a middle-school English teacher.  Since then, he has helped individuals and groups for more than 30 years in a wide variety of settings.  He was a practicing psychotherapist for over twenty-five years.  For the last ten years, Jeff has been a life coach based in New Hampshire and Boston who works with both individuals and groups. He has been a consultant and coach to parents, families, schools, teams/athletes and corporations all over the U.S.

At the outset of this episode, Jeff tells us that there is something hiding in plain sight.  It’s a mental health crisis afflicting young people all over the world.  Jeff has been working with kids for 42 years and he’s seen it building up over the years.  Even before the pandemic, things were on a downward spiral.

Jeff identifies three terms that help to explain the mental health crisis with young people:

#1) Overwhelming tragedy list – major problems such as global warming, political divisiveness, phone addiction, school shootings are so big and overwhelming that they aren’t being acknowledged.

#2) New parenting playbook – in the past, children had the freedom to be themselves.  However, most parents are preparing the road for the child instead of allowing the child to prepare his or her own road.

#3) Outcome fever – kids are completely attached to the results of what they do, how they look and how they are perceived.  He says they fundamentally lack an opportunity to develop a solid identity.

Jeff brings up the frightening statistic that eight Worcester Polytechnic Institute college students have killed themselves since this past August of 2021.  This disturbs Jeff deeply and keeps him up at night.  In response, Jeff has created the Reconnection Project.

Jeff says we need to have this painful conversation about what’s really going on with young people.  As he says, it’s time to name the elephant in the room that is causing this crisis.  The Reconnection Projection seeks to bring the community together and gets them talking about these issues.

At the end of the day, the truth is what will set us free.  The mental health crisis with kids is the elephant in the room and it’s being largely ignored.  For Jeff, things can change only if we are willing to have these difficult conversations and acknowledge the truth.  

Let’s dive into this episode with Jeff Levin!

You can learn more about Jeff, his coaching and the reconnection project right here: https://www.jefflevincoaching.com/

You can also contact him directly here: 603-496-0305