Is your high-achieving teen secretly battling self-doubt? 😔 Mental health expert Jason Phillips joins Dr. Cam—The Teen Translator—in this powerful episode to decode the hidden struggles of perfectionist teens. Learn how to support your teen without adding pressure, embrace failure as growth, and balance achievement with well-being. Get actionable strategies to build their confidence and foster a positive self-perception, as Jason and Dr. Cam unpack self-doubt, academic pressure, burnout, and teen anxiety.

 

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• Why embracing failure might be the best thing you can do for your teen’s growth.


• How you can support your teen’s drive for success without adding to their stress.


• What role parents play in teaching healthy self-care and boundaries to their teens.

 

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR PARENTS OF TEENS

• Failure is a Key Part of Growth: Allowing teens to experience failure in a supportive environment helps build resilience and emotional strength.


• Model Healthy Boundaries: Parents need to show their teens how to balance work and rest to prevent burnout and foster healthy habits.


• Validate, Don’t Solve: Instead of offering solutions right away, parents should listen and validate their teen’s feelings, which builds trust and connection.


• Give Teens Agency: Empowering teens by encouraging them to make decisions and advocate for themselves promotes independence and self-confidence.


• Maintain Your Own Identity: Parents should avoid losing themselves in their role as caregivers and should continue pursuing their own interests and well-being for a healthy family dynamic.

 

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Free Confidence Guide: stepstoconfidence.com


• Podcast: Peace and Prosperity Podcast (available on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms)  

CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST: Jason Phillips, LCSW

• Website: jasonlphillips.com


• Instagram: @JPhillipsMSW

 

CONNECT WITH YOUR HOST: Dr. Cam Caswell

• Website: AskDrCam.com


• Instagram: @DrCamCaswell


• TikTok: @the.teen.translator


• YouTube: Parenting Teens with Dr. Cam


• Facebook: @DrCamCaswell

 

EPISODE CHAPTERS: 

• 00:00 Understanding Self-Doubt in High-Achieving Teens


• 05:09 The Role of Failure in Teen Growth and Resilience


• 10:38 Balancing Achievement, Rest, and Mental Health for Teens


• 15:06 Building Teen Confidence and Self-Worth: Practical Strategies


• 20:11 The Pressure on High-Achieving Parents and Its Impact on Teens


• 25:34 Navigating Parental Involvement in High-Achieving Teens’ Lives


• 30:20 Modeling Healthy Behaviors for Teens: Leading by Example


• 35:39 Encouraging Positive Self-Perception and Self-Esteem in Teens

 

About the Show:

The Parenting Teens with Dr. Cam Podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the challenges of raising teenagers. Hosted by Dr. Cam Caswell, an adolescent psychologist and certified parenting coach, this podcast offers practical parenting strategies, expert advice, and real-world insights to help you build a stronger relationship with your teen and support their emotional growth. Whether you’re struggling with teenage behavior or looking to improve communication, each episode provides actionable tips to make parenting teens easier and more rewarding. Perfect for both new and seasoned parents, this podcast helps you build the confidence to handle teen challenges and thrive together. #theteentranslator #drcamcaswell #parentingteenswithdrcam

 

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Cam: Welcome back, parents! Today, we're diving into how to support high-achieving teens through self-doubt and burnout. Many teens push themselves to the limit but still feel like they aren't measuring up, even though their parents see their amazing potential. It's frustrating when parents try to help, but their words seem to have the opposite effect. To help us unpack this, I’ve invited Jason Phillips, a therapist and mental health expert who specializes in guiding high achievers to overcome self-doubt and build real confidence. Jason has worked with Fortune 500 companies, law firms, and universities, and today he’s here to help us understand how to support our teens through perfectionism. Welcome, Jason!

Jason Phillips: Thanks for having me, Dr. Cam. I'm excited to have this conversation!

Dr. Cam: So, Jason, tell us about your journey. How did you end up focusing on helping high achievers?

Jason Phillips: It really happened organically. After graduating from the University of Michigan, I worked with military populations at the Ann Arbor VA and later served as the clinic chief at Fort Bragg. Over time, I noticed that corporate executives and leaders were drawn to my approach because I specialize in helping them overcome anxiety. That led me to helping high achievers break free from self-doubt and build confidence.

Dr. Cam: That’s amazing. It’s so ironic that high achievers often struggle with self-doubt. From the outside, they seem so confident, yet many of them are riddled with anxiety. I see this a lot with the teens I work with, too. They’re getting straight A’s and excelling, but they still feel like they’re not enough. Their parents tell me that no matter how much they express their love and support, it doesn’t seem to help. So, where do you think this drive for achievement comes from?

Jason Phillips: A lot of it comes from external pressures—parents, teachers, peers. I can relate to that pressure myself. I was a high achiever growing up, constantly pushed to excel. While straight A's were celebrated, they came with their own anxiety, because I felt like I couldn’t ever drop below that standard. External pressures, even from well-meaning sources like teachers and family, can make teens feel like they have to be perfect. That’s often where the self-doubt begins.

Dr. Cam: That’s such an important point. Parents want to encourage their teens and help them live up to their potential, but the way they say things can sometimes have the opposite effect. How can parents motivate their teens without adding pressure?

Jason Phillips: The key is to make room for failure. When we constantly tell our teens how great they are, they might think anything less than perfection means they’re failing. Allowing them to fail is essential, as it helps them see that mistakes are just part of the learning process. They need to understand that not being perfect doesn’t mean they’re not enough.

Dr. Cam: I love that. It’s one thing to allow failure, but I try to encourage my teen to embrace it. The idea is that failing at something difficult means you’re pushing beyond your comfort zone, which is where true growth happens. So, it’s not about being perfect; it’s about challenging yourself and learning from those challenges. What do you think about that approach?

Jason Phillips: Absolutely. Embracing failure is one of the best ways to help teens develop resilience. By pushing themselves outside their comfort zone, they’ll encounter setbacks, but that’s where growth truly occurs. It’s about focusing on what you tried, not just whether you succeeded or failed.

Dr. Cam: Exactly! And that mindset shift can make all the difference. Thanks so much for sharing this insight, Jason. It’s such a helpful perspective for parents trying to support their teens.

Jason Phillips: I don't know if you're into exercise or weightlifting, Dr. Cam, but there's this term where you'll ask, how many reps are we doing? Ten, twenty? And sometimes it's until failure, which means pushing yourself until you can't anymore.

Jason Phillips: Because we know that's when the growth happens. It's not in staying in a comfort zone. I want you to push yourself to failure until you just can't do anymore.

Jason Phillips: And then we've got kids who are constantly pushing themselves and never feel like it's enough. How do we balance that, where it's okay to be just okay and not amazing at everything? How do we communicate that without making them feel like we just think they're okay?

Jason Phillips: It goes back to balance. As much as we want to push to failure, we also need time for rest. We can't just go, go, go, or we'll get exhausted and burned out. We need to carve out time to relax, watch TV, play video games, or sleep in.

Jason Phillips: Make sure you're not just filling your calendar with things you have to do. You can put so much on there and never feel done.

Dr. Cam: I want to emphasize that because I see a lot of parents who don't understand why their kids feel that way, but when you look at their schedules, they're packed. Every time the kids try to relax or scroll through TikTok, they hear, "You're being unproductive