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.