Treatment for Failure to Launch

Adolescents and Young Adults / Georgetown, TX and 40 States*

What is Failure to Launch?

Failure to Launch (FTL) refers to an individual:

  • 18 years or older

  • not actively involved in employment, in education, or training (“NEET”)

  • living with a parent* or at their expense

*Parent refers to any caregiver - parents, grandparents, family members, or partners.

FTL is not a diagnosis. It’s a state of stuckness. Many FTL adults have existing diagnoses of anxiety (e.g., social anxiety disorder), OCD, depression, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and pathological demand avoidance (PDA).

FTL adults do not suffer alone.

Their parents are often drained and exhausted from living lives centered around their adult child and ignoring their own needs. They live isolated lives due to overwhelming feelings of shame and guilt.

Their parents feel defeated and rudderless because their adult child resists participating in mental health treatment. Family communication devolves into screaming matches. Family therapy is often a bust.

Retirement-age parent fear of their future. They fear their loved one will not be able to cope without them and will have to support them financially for the rest of their life.

Your loved one can move forward!

SPACE for Failure to Launch (SPACE-FTL) is a science-supported treatment for failure to launch. SPACE is a brief treatment of 8-12 sessions. The goals of SPACE-FTL are to:

  • Become emotionally resilient.

  • Get your loved one actively attending work, school, or training.

  • Improve their follow-through with self-care and home-care tasks.

  • Increase financial independence.

  • Break free from screen addiction and isolation.

  • Take steps toward independent living.

  • Communicate with your loved without without meltdowns and screaming.

SPACE for Failure to Launch (SPACE-FTL)

SPACE (Supportive Parenting of Anxious Childhood Emotions) is a parent-led treatment for youth anxiety, OCD, and related disorders.

Why focus on parents?

YOU are highly motivated to change.

All of the parents I work with are losing their retirement, sleep, and hair! That is why the fire is lit under your feet. Working with you is the path of least resistance and to change.

Your suffering is no less deserving of help.

Unfortunately, psychology has sent the message everything is the parents’ fault. Parents mess up the kids. Research, however, shows things can go the other way! But it doesn’t take a scientist to understand when a child is having a tough time, their loving parents are going to have a tough time.

FTL adults very often refuse mental health treatment and other kinds of support.

Many FTL adults are afraid of flying solo. They believe independence will eventually lead to a catastrophe they cannot handle. Anything that “helps” becomes aversive.

Helping your child out of tough situations is what parents do!

When your loved one was a young child and sick, what did you do? You took them to the doctor. You gave them the medicine. You stayed with them and nursed them back to health. Why? Because your child needed you to do something they couldn’t do.

“So much is asked of parents, and so little is given.”
— Virginia Satir

How It Works

Step 1.

I will assess the emotional and behavioral challenges you and your adult child are facing.

Step 2.

I will teach you how SPACE-FTL works to accomplish the goals.

Step 3.

I will teach you a simple way to decrease conflictual communication.

Step 4.

We will find out all the ways your child is over-avoiding or depending on you.

Step 5.

We will choose one of those behaviors to change.

Step 6.

We will make a plan to change that avoidant or dependent behavior and make a plan to overcome difficult barriers, such as disagreement between parents, aggression, and suicidal and self-injurious behaviors.

Step 7.

We will “grease the wheels” for change using an announcement.

Step 8.

We will implement the plan and troubleshoot any difficulties.

Step 9.

We will attack other behaviors of avoidance and dependence together.

Step 10.

We will make a plan so that you can continue to attack other avoidant and dependent behaviors on your own and create a relapse prevention plan.

Are you ready to get started?


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