This course will strive to equip students to understand adolescent issues at a deeper level and to respond in a way that truly promotes health and wholeness. Class time will be built around lectures supplemented by case study evaluations, group discussions and media critiques. Students will be evaluated on the basis of reading reports, a real-life adolescent profile and the development of a parent workshop as a final summary project. Issues such as eating disorders, substance abuse, depression, suicide and anxiety will be discussed. Youth workers, teachers, parents, pastors and counsellors will benefit from this practical class as it explores the importance of hope in caregiving relationships.