Our story...
In 1998, Michael Y. Simon was the parent of a young teenager himself, and looking for resources and support for the challenges of parenting.
Despite having been trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist, it became clear that parenting in theory was a lot different than parenting a real teen…and it was much easier to do it all with the support, consultation and wisdom of others, in community. He went looking for that community and decided to build part of that community online—so PHFP was born. Over the last 25 years, Michael has been privileged to serve youth and families in a variety of different contests—as a researcher, writer, university teacher, parent education coordinator, high school counseling director, noted speaker/educator and psychotherapist in private practice,
Today, Practical Help for Parents provides real-life solutions as you parent, support and understand the teens and pre-teens in your life. PHFP offers informative, entertaining, research-based workshops for students and parents, keynotes and presentations to high school and middle school parents, teachers and administrators; program development and consultation to mental health professionals, policymakers and schools/school districts; access to online resources (including articles, a quarterly Newsletter, bibliographies and Tip Sheets) and; media interviews and expertise on adolescent development.
Who We Serve...
Located in the San Francisco Bay area from 1998 to 2014, Practical Help for Parents relocates to New Orleans in January, 2015. As always, we'll continue to provide workshops around the United States. Here’s a small sample of some of the fine San Francisco Bay Area educational institutions for which we've provided speaking services, workshops and/or consultation:
Acalanes High School, Lafayette
Alameda High School, Alameda
Athenian School, Walnut Creek
Bentley School (Upper and Lower Schools), Lafayette and Oakland
Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland
Black Pine Circle, Berkeley
Branson School, Ross
Castilleja School, Palo Alto
Children’s Day School, San Francisco
Chinese-American International School (CAIS), San Francisco
Clifford Middle School, Redwood City
College Preparatory School (CPS), Oakland
Creative Learning Center, Alameda
Crystal Springs Uplands School, Hillsborough
Encinal High School, Alameda
French-American International School (FAIS), San Francisco
Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, San Francisco
Head-Royce School, Oakland
Jewish Community High School of the Bay, San Francisco
Marin Academy, San Rafael
Marin Country Day School, Corte Madera
Marin Primary and Middle School, Larkspur
Menlo School, Menlo Park
Miramonte High School, Miramonte
Parents Coalition of Bay Area High Schools, San Francisco
Redwood Day School, Oakland
Redwood High School, Larkspur
San Francisco University High School, San Francisco
Sonoma Academy, Santa Rosa
The Bay School, San Francisco
The Creek Youth Center, Walnut Creek
The Marin School, Sausalito
The San Francisco School, San Francisco
The Seven Hills School, Walnut Creek
The Urban School of San Francisco, San Francisco
University of California at Berkeley (Cal), Berkeley
Wood Middle School, Alameda
…and many more.