Mary Warren

Therapeutic Educational Consultant and Parenting Coach

Specializing in Parent Coaching and Therapeutic Placement

Your Trusted Guide Helping Teens & Parents Reconnect and Heal for Over 17 Years

Hi! I’m Mary Warren, an experienced guide in therapeutic boarding school placement, residential treatment, and parent coaching.

Are you parenting a struggling teen? I help parents whose teens are making poor choices find the right support and treatment. That includes demystifying therapeutic options and offering compassionate, real-world parent coaching.

I understand what you are going through because I’ve been there!

I offer parents compassionate guidance, advocacy, and ongoing support through parent coaching services to foster growth and strengthen family connections.

If your child is in trouble, heading down the wrong path, or spiraling out of control, it is not too late to find healing and restore your family.

I also help parents find the right therapeutic boarding school, wilderness program, or residential treatment. I work with teens ages 12–17 and young adults.

My Teen is:

When your teen is struggling with overwhelming emotions, it can feel like you are watching them slip away.

Their behavior affects everyone in the family and makes you feel powerless.

I help parents work through the stress and heartbreak that follows, offering parent coaching and guidance to find effective support that really helps.

I work closely with families whose teens have been diagnosed with:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Major Depressive Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
Mood Dysregulation
Conduct Disorder

Let’s evaluate what’s happening, untangle the chaos and find clarity, so you can take the first step in helping your teen heal.

If every day feels like a power struggle, you’re not alone.

Families whose teens are diagnosed with certain mental health disorders often find themselves overwhelmed by constant conflict, outbursts and defiance.

If your teen is facing these behaviors, I can help you manage those difficult moments more effectively, build healthier communication, and restore a sense of calm and connection at home.

Common diagnoses that result in this type of upheaval include:

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED)
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
Conduct Disorder (CD)
Impulse Control Disorders

You don’t have to navigate this alone.

With the right support, families can break free from the cycle of tension and move toward greater understanding and emotional safety.

I offer practical solutions and compassionate guidance tailored to your teen’s needs—and yours as a parent.

Risky behavior can easily get out of control, and that is so scary for a parent!

Whether your teen is misusing substances, making unsafe choices, or caught up in compulsive patterns, I help you step in to meet them where they are.

These behaviors may be linked to mental health challenges like:

ADHD
Substance Use Disorders
Self-Harm or Suicidal Ideation
Internet or Gaming Addiction
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

I want to emphasize this point: You don’t have to face these issues alone.

Working together, we can work on building trust, reducing risks and getting your teen on the path to making healthier choices.

Academic and social struggles are often signs of deeper issues.

Whether your teen is facing academic roadblocks, school refusal, suspension, or truancy, or if they’ve been diagnosed with:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (High Functioning)
Learning Disorders
Social Anxiety
Executive Functioning Challenges

Or if they’re struggling socially and find it difficult to:

Manage peer relationships
Make and keep friends
Cope with bullying or are the instigator
Handle social media pressure
Have low self-esteem and body image issues
Manage FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Need to break free from screen obsession or excessive gaming
Social isolation

Together, we can look beneath the surface and help your teen reconnect, whether that means re-engaging with life at home or exploring more comprehensive treatment options.

Am I the Right Choice for your family? If Your child is:

Is a good kid at heart but is making poor choices and needs guidance to get back on track.
Has been in therapy without seeing significant improvement.
Has engaged in self-harm, risky behaviors, or is experiencing a mental health crisis.
Recently completed wilderness therapy or short-term treatment and requires continued therapeutic support.

If any of these resonate with you, please reach out and let’s connect to discuss what’s happening and how to find the proper support. I offer a confidential, complimentary consultation.

My Story: My Family's Crisis - From Teen Defiance to Healing

Twenty years ago, I was thriving as a senior manager with a financial services company. I worked hard and did my best to provide a strong, values-based home for my family.

Everything seemed to be going well when my oldest daughter struggled to find her place in life.

She started making poor choices with friends, becoming increasingly defiant, failing multiple classes, disrespecting authority, and shutting down emotionally.

I was scared and could feel her dark direction, and I had no idea what to do.

I became committed to finding help for my daughter in whatever way I could. I tried so many things. I started with family therapy.

I sought spiritual support. I looked into changing schools and found a new therapist. We tried negotiating and renegotiating agreements within the home.

Over 20 years ago, I enrolled two teenagers in therapeutic boarding schools. I personally witnessed the positive transformation of my own children, and I have had a fervent desire ever since to help other families with challenging and troubled teens get the help and support they desperately need.

Mary Warren

When Traditional Therapy Isn't Enough

Finding a Therapeutic Boarding School for My Daughter

I finally had to realize that NOTHING was working for our family, and in fact, my daughter had spiraled out of control.

Things were so much worse than I could ever imagine.

I was getting desperate, and I was terrified she’d fail out of school. Her defiance led to school suspensions, her grades plummeted, and I feared she might drop out.

While sitting at our doctor’s office one day, I noticed an ad for therapeutic boarding schools in the back of Sunset magazine.

It was a tiny ad, but it spoke very loudly to me. I had a glimmer of hope that this could be my answer.

Enrolling My Troubled Teenagers in Therapeutic Boarding School

After many agonizing and emotional phone calls with the school staff and the intervention team, I made the heartbreaking decision to enroll my daughter in a therapeutic boarding school.

I found the right school that was a good fit for our situation.

Deciding to send my daughter away to a therapeutic teen program was by far the most difficult decision I have ever had to make.

I was sick with grief and fear, but deep inside, I knew this was the best way to save my daughter from her self-destructive behavior.

Teen Rebellion, Academic Failure & Our Family's Breaking Point

A few months into her therapeutic program, I faced the same decision for my son.

He was making the same poor choices as his sister: unhealthy friends, failing grades, defiant, angry, zero respect, smoking weed, etc.

This time, I did not waste any time. I knew what I had to do. I made the same decision for him and enrolled my son in a therapeutic boarding school.

This time, I set up the intervention. Within two days, my son was on his way to a residential therapeutic program.

Sending my son away to a program broke my heart into a thousand pieces again, but I knew this was the right decision to save him as well.

It was different then, schools were far away, and family visits were rare.

I invested every dollar I had into these programs, and traveling was not an option. I desperately waited for their letters and phone calls.

Eventually, I began to see a change in both of them. My teenage children became open and honest in their letters to me.

They became accountable for their past bad behavior and expressed gratitude for my decision to send them away.

My kids were finally getting the help they needed in a very profound and powerful way. They were healing.

My Son and Daughter’s Out of Control Teenage Behaviors were a Family Challenge

I clearly understood that my teenage son and daughter’s issues were a family challenge. To heal fully, we needed to do this together.

I worked on myself as they worked on themselves…

As a single parent, sending my children away to therapeutic boarding school was not easy. I had the same fears and concerns as many of my clients today.

• How am I going to pay for it?
• Is this the right decision? The right program?
• Will she hate me forever?
• How will I get her to go?
• Am I a bad mom?
• How will it affect my other child?

I knew I had to make this difficult decision and show my children the leadership and courage to save their lives.

Ultimately, sending my son and daughter to residential therapy programs fostered the growth, learning, and reunification back to a whole and healthy family.

My life is full of love, respect, self-worth, goals, humor, and continued growth.

I am so proud of the work my family has done…life is never perfect…but now it is healthy and whole.

I am forever grateful for the whole (difficult) experience because it has brought us to where we are now…

My Therapeutic Consulting Philosophy and Parent Coaching Approach

As a dedicated therapeutic educational consultant, tenacious family advocate, and parenting coach, my unwavering commitment is to help families create a peaceful, balanced, and loving environment for their teens, ensuring their well-being is always at the forefront of my work.

My journey from a successful corporate career in financial services to becoming a therapeutic consultant was driven by a deep belief that every child, regardless of their challenges, deserves the best life has to offer.

This personal transformation fuels my passion for helping families and teens navigate these difficult years.

My unwavering mission is to guide families and teens through the tumultuous teenage years, helping them conquer adversity, stress and ultimately find healing.

Whether you need help developing better parenting strategies, finding the right therapeutic program, or both, I can be your guide.

My principles are honesty, integrity, confidentiality, and a thorough, compassionate approach.

I am here to help you restore peace and balance to your family.

You are not alone, Let's find answers for Your Struggling Teen

If you read my story above and felt understood, and are facing similar struggles with defiance, academic failures, mental health issues, etc.

I want you to know there are answers, and there’s no judgment—only support!

If you’re considering a therapeutic program for your teen, I offer a complimentary consultation. This session is designed to discuss the options and find the right fit for your family.

I help parents find placements in therapeutic boarding schools, teen wilderness programs, or residential treatment centers, tailoring my recommendations to your unique situation.

For parents seeking guidance to strengthen their connection with their teen, I also offer a discovery session. If you’re ready to take the first step towards change, let’s talk. Book your free consultation here.