In this episode 7 chapters
- Four Stages of Adolescence
Keith introduces Carl Pickhart's model of adolescence as four stages running from age 9 to 23, separate from puberty, and describes the signs of each stage in kids and in their parents.
- Interest, Boundaries, and Freedom
Parents do better when they take a real, positive interest in their child's inner life and model kind self-evaluation.
- The Whole Family Is Growing
Modern adolescents need real inner growth that tribal cultures once supplied through ready-made roles.
- Midlife Echoes of Adolescence
An identity shift in midlife can bring back the issues of adolescence, now met with adult capacities.
- Initiation and Finding Power
Keith describes initiation as celebrating a hard-won achievement and discovering yourself by holding to your core values under pressure.
- Flooded, Numb, and Different
Keith answers questions about teens who flood with emotion or go numb on screens, offering respectful conversation and real interest in what teens care about.
- Forgiveness Is a Process
Answering a father's regret over his parenting mistakes, Keith describes forgiveness as an ongoing practice of radical responsibility, radical acceptance, and trauma work.
e like to talk about human development around these parts. It is one of our favorite subjects. And when it comes to our own development, our adolescent years are by far the most rapid and the most potent period of our lives. It is a time of explosive interior growth, when multiple intelligences are moving through multiple waves of maturation in a very short timeframe, all while a newly independent identity is beginning to emerge for the very first time. Which is why this is often such a messy and confusing time in our lives (after all, there’s a good reason we quarantine pubescent children away from the rest of society under the guise of “middle school”).
Watch as Dr. Keith and I take a close look at this critical phase of our own development, noting all of the things that can go right (and many of the things that can go wrong) during this period of growth, and how we can be more supportive and responsive to the needs of our own children as they navigate this turbulent period of their lives. It is a precious reminder that we as parents are continuing to grow right alongside our children, and how much resiliency our children have when we inevitably mess something up. Which is largely the point, I think — to mess our own kids up just a little bit less than our parents messed us up.
And so goes the march of progress, where each generation can be ever-so-slightly less dysfunctional than the last.
Written by Corey deVos
Music by Justin Miles and Stuart Davis
October 8, 2026
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About Keith Witt
Dr. Keith Witt is a Licensed Psychologist, teacher, and author who has lived and worked in Santa Barbara, CA. for over forty years. Dr. Witt is also the founder of The School of Love.
About Corey deVos
Corey W. deVos is editor and producer of Integral Life. He has worked for Integral Institute/Integal Life since Spring of 2003, and has been a student of integral theory and practice since 1996. Corey is also a professional woodworker, and many of his artworks can be found in his VisionLogix art gallery.
