Helping Teens Become Goal-Setters // Let's Start the Year Right

n this episode of the Turning Winds Podcast, host Kevin Zundl sits down with Clinical Director Jared Sartell to explore how teens in treatment learn to set meaningful, self-driven goals. As the new year begins, the conversation focuses on how Turning Winds uses seasonal momentum, such as the post-holiday reflection period, to reinforce principles of gratitude, service, and personal development.

Jared shares how the Turning Winds team helps students shift from external motivation to internal accountability by guiding them through structured levels of care, community service, and individualized goal-setting that matches both emotional and developmental readiness. Whether a teen is academically behind or already excelling, this episode offers valuable insight into how therapeutic education can reshape a student’s outlook and long-term capabilities.

If you are a parent or professional seeking a deeper understanding of how true personal transformation happens in adolescence, this conversation provides both clarity and hope.

Recommended Podcasts

Executive Functioning and the Adolescent Brain · How focus, organization, and follow-through develop through structured therapeutic learning.

Helping Teens Build Emotional IQ: Awareness, Regulation, and Self-Confidence · Understanding how self-awareness and emotional growth drive goal achievement.

Investment: An Approach for Continual Growth · How consistent effort and reflection fuel personal development and long-term success.

Recommended Reading

Leadership Training at Turning Winds · How students learn self-leadership through goal setting, mentorship, and service.

College Prep at Turning Winds · Supporting teens in identifying purpose and building the skills for academic success.

Curious Parenting to Support Your Kids · Why curiosity and engagement help teens take ownership of their growth.

Keywords:
teen goal setting, teen therapy podcast, therapeutic boarding school, residential treatment for teens, clinical director interview, IEP in residential treatment, 504 plan support, gratitude in therapy, self-motivation in teens, mental health for adolescents, Turning Winds, helping troubled teens, structured care for youth, service learning for teens, emotional development in adolescence

For more teen parenting tips and treatment information | turningwinds.com | 800-845-1380.