The Teen Support Institute is a group of ex-troubled teens that realized that they have a lot of insight to offer teens and their parents. Offering parents support and working with troubled teens is our number one priority. Our mission is simple:
- Help teens transition into a happy and successful adulthood
- Help parents build strong and lasting relationships with their teens
- By doing the above two, we believe we help make the world a better place!
A message from our director
My name is Sergio DiazGranados and I am a teen life coach and parent consultant here in Los Angeles whose main goal is to help troubled teens find their way in life and bridge the gap between parents and their kids.
As an ex-troubled teen growing up in Los Angeles that has been through almost every negative scenario possible, I want to offer parents an insider’s perspective on what your teen is going through. Using a unique and forward thinking approach, I help parents guide their troubled teen in a way that best serves both you the parent and the teen. Each of your needs is different and unique. As a parent, you want to ensure what’s best and healthy for your teen (or young adult). As a teen, they want to ensure they get to fully express their individuality. Whether your teen is out-of-control, addicted to video games, or exhibiting poor behavior such as doing drugs, low self-esteem, eating disorders, giving in to peer pressure, having sex, lying, depression, anger, etc…I can help you guide them to get back on track.
My story
Raised by a single parent here in Los Angeles, I went through every pitfall imaginable: drugs, gangs, violence, sex, running away, stealing, bad attitude, depression (including contemplating suicide), and then some. I grew up in the era of “single parents” when hardly any of my friends’ families were together or stable and all of us kids were pissed off because of it. My mom (God bless her heart) had no idea how to relate with me which just added to the confusion. Considering some of the situations I had been in, I’m not even sure how I made it out alive.
But something profound happened during this time that changed my life forever. I found my life purpose: music. I became a DJ at the age of 14, which gave me structure and a place to channel my energy. At 16, riding this wave of new found enthusiasm, I started to throw DJ parties (“raves”) here in Los Angeles, which were like therapy sessions for troubled teens and young adults who lost connection with their parents. At these events I listened to so many teens and young adults tell me their family stories. What I learned is that we all basically had the same problem: our parents did not know how to relate or connect with us and we didn’t know what to do with our lives. We were scared as hell and the only answer was to escape our problems. And these rave parties were just that—an escape.
While producing these LA events I became a teen therapist of sorts for many of these kids—I listened to their problems and helped guide them to make better choices. Years later I moved on from the music scene and realized that I loved listening to people and helping them down a healthier path. This was when I found the Life Coaching industry. Pondering my life over I knew there had to be a reason why I spent so many years throwing these events, listening to all these kids’ problems, and having the frame of mind to “grow myself up” and be aware of all the steps I took to do so. I then realized that coaching teens and helping parents is where my life has led me.
Looking back, I clearly see how this experience gave me a first-hand vantage point of what is happening with troubled teens. More so, I can see how parents have lost the ability to connect with their children and how this is creating so much hostility, distance, and resentment.