THE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT TEEN

Teen psychologist McNally offers a self-help toolkit for developing emotional intelligence.

A perky, first-person narrator guides readers through a series of skill-building chapters focused on specific components of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and topics like self-regulation, awareness of others, and understanding physical sensations. Each chapter is filled with examples and exercises, such as a self-awareness questionnaire, breathing and visualization scripts for mindfulness practice, and a feelings wheel diagram to assist with identifying and articulating emotions. Reflective journal prompts throughout the book encourage readers to slow down and take time in building skills. Helpful tips for managing device usage and social media habits encourage teens to be screen time savvy and understand the potential impact of technology on their well-being. Readers experiencing common conflicts like sports team struggles or academic challenges may find value in this approach. The sample scenarios throughout the guide, while likely useful to many, do not address the more serious concerns many readers will have at a time when many young adults face identity-related pressures around their rights to be themselves: The absence of discussion around how emotional intelligence factors into conflicts that involve race, sexual orientation, or gender identity is a missed opportunity to bring helpful perspectives to this well-trodden subject. Nevertheless, this is an accessible overview of a perennially important subject.

A well-intentioned and helpful manual that doesn’t stand out in a crowded field.