Evolution Mentoring and Coaching provides parent coaching consultations for parents of teenagers and young adults, based in Marin County, California and available virtually worldwide. Jeffrey Leiken, MA is an experienced mentor with more than 25 years of practice. A two-hour consultation is $750. This is coaching for parents, not therapy.
For the Parent, Not the Teenager
Sometimes the person who most needs a clear head is the parent. You are close enough to the situation to be inside it, every conversation has history attached, and the advice available to you is either generic or comes from people who have not met your child.
A parent coaching consultation is a private conversation with Jeff about your son or daughter. You explain what has been happening. He tells you what he sees, why previous approaches have not worked, and what he would do about it.
When Therapy Isn’t Enough and Teen Coaching Can Help
Many of the parents who reach out to Evolution Mentoring have already tried multiple approaches—therapy, school programs, academic coaching, even residential interventions.
They’re still seeing the same kinds of problems:
- Their teen is withdrawn, anxious, or angry
- School performance has dropped
- There’s growing disconnection at home
- Their teen won’t engage with therapy—or simply “shuts down” in sessions
- The family is stuck in a cycle of conflict or confusion
- They are still struggling socially
You’re trying to help. But nothing is working. And that’s where this process beginsl. The Parent and Teen Coaching Services are designed specifically for this moment—for families who need a new perspective, a clear plan, and someone who understands what they’re really up against.
How the Parent and Teen Coaching Services Work
The Parent Coaching starts with a free 45-60 minute private conversation between you and Jeff Leiken. It’s an in-depth, strategic session that helps you:
- Understand your teen’s behavior and emotional patterns
- See why therapy and other conventional methods may not have worked
- Learn how Evolution Mentoring is different—and how it may help
- Ask questions and get straight, honest answers
- Explore whether your teen is a fit for Jeff’s mentoring
It’s not a therapy session. It’s a professional, grounded conversation with a clear purpose: to help you move forward with confidence.
Who Our Teen Coaching and Parent Coaching Services Are For
The Parent Consultation is designed for parents of:
- High school teens who are bright, sensitive, intense, or unmotivated
- College students who are overwhelmed, drifting, or unsure of what’s next
- Young adults who are struggling to find direction or independence
These are often young people who don’t respond to surface-level solutions. Some may be labeled “resistant” or “unreachable,” but in reality, they’re looking for something deeper—something more real.
Many of Jeff’s clients are what he calls “deep water kids”—bright, thoughtful, emotionally intense, and in need of someone who truly gets them. They don’t want more lectures. They don’t want to be a patient! They want to be understood.
How The Process Works
Jeff has spent over 25 years mentoring teens and young adults across the U.S. and Europe. More than two-thirds of the families he works with come to him after therapy and conventional coaching have failed to produce results.
What makes this work different is the foundation it’s built on:
- Real relationships, not clinical protocols
- Practical mentorship, not diagnosis
- Respect, trust, and direct communication
The Parent Coaching and Teen Coaching are your opportunity to step into that world and explore if this model fits your family.
What to Expect From Evolution Mentoring
Every consultation is personalized, but here’s what you can expect:
- A clear, calm space to explain your teen’s situation
- A framework for understanding what may be going on beneath the surface
- Insight into how Jeff would approach mentoring your teen
- A discussion of next steps—whether with Jeff or another direction he recommends
You’ll leave with greater clarity, reduced stress, and a roadmap—something many families haven’t had in a long time.
What Happens Next
If the consultation confirms that your teen is a strong fit for Evolution Mentoring, Jeff will guide you through the next steps in the mentoring process.
If the fit isn’t right, he’ll tell you that directly—and may offer other resources or referrals that are better aligned with your needs.
Either way, the consultation brings clarity and direction.
Schedule Your Consultation
If you’re ready to explore a new direction—one grounded in clarity, experience, and real connection—the next step is scheduling a Parent Consultation.
This is your chance to get expert guidance, understand what’s truly possible, and finally stop spinning in circles.
Schedule your Parent Consultation today and take the first step toward helping your teen in a way that truly works.
You Do Not Need Your Teenager to Agree
This is the most useful part for a lot of families. If your teenager refuses to speak to anyone, that does not have to stop you. Parents regularly use these consultations on their own, and changes in how a parent handles the situation frequently move things before the young person is ever involved. If it later makes sense, one-on-one mentoring for your teen is available.
What Usually Comes Up
Most of what parents describe falls into a small number of recognisable patterns, and knowing which one you are actually in changes the entire response. The child who has stopped trying in order to avoid failing visibly. The one whose withdrawal is protective rather than defiant. The one whose anger is the only feeling that gets out. The one who is managing everything competently and quietly running on empty.
Reading the pattern correctly matters, because the natural parental response to several of them makes the situation worse. That is not a criticism of parents. It is a reason to have someone experienced look at it alongside you.
Format and Fee
A two-hour session is $750, held by video or phone, or in person in Mill Valley and Marin County. Some parents use a single consultation and need nothing further. Others return periodically as the situation develops. Ongoing parent support is also built into every one-on-one mentoring engagement, so if your child is already working with Jeff, this is included rather than separate.
Not Family Therapy
Jeff is a life coach and mentor, not a therapist. He does not provide therapy or family therapy, does not diagnose, and does not accept insurance. What he offers is experience, perspective and a plan, in plain language.
Schedule a free initial consultation to see whether a full parent coaching session would help.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a parent coaching consultation?
$750 for a two-hour session. The initial consultation to determine fit is free.
Can I do this without my teenager knowing?
Yes. Many parents start on their own, and changes in how a parent handles things often move the situation before the teen is involved.
Is this family therapy?
No. Jeff is a life coach and mentor, not a therapist. He does not provide therapy and does not accept insurance.
Do I need more than one session?
Not necessarily. Some parents need only one. Others return periodically as things change.
Is parent support included if my teen works with Jeff?
Yes. Parent consultation and family meetings are built into the comprehensive one-on-one engagement.