Today's episode of The Be Ruthless Show is a wake up call.

A 13 year old completes her own intake paperwork. No parent. No guardian. No emergency contact. If something had gone wrong, there would have been no adult to call.

A 16 year old starts therapy. No parent reaches out before. No parent follows up after.

This is not about blame. It is about responsibility.

Teens today are reporting record levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Emergency room visits for adolescent mental health crises have surged in recent years. And yet more and more adults are stepping back from direct involvement in their children's care.

In this episode, I discuss :

• The growing gap between adolescent mental health needs and adult engagement

• Why autonomy without containment is dangerous

• The legal and ethical realities therapists face when no guardian is involved

• The difference between empowering teens and abandoning oversight

• When adult absence is avoidance, burnout, or something more serious

• The cultural shift toward convenience over accountability

I also address the harder truths:

Some teens are acting out.

Some are protecting themselves in unsafe homes.

Some adults are overwhelmed.

Some are disengaged.

And systems are making it easier for everyone to opt out.

If a minor is in therapy, an adult is part of the treatment whether they participate or not.

This episode challenges caregivers, therapists, and systems to examine where responsibility begins and where it has quietly disappeared.

Because when a teen shows up alone, someone else is missing.

And that matters.

On today's episode of The Be Ruthless Show, I unpack a question that derails more conversations than we realize:

“Why are you yelling at me?”

What if no one was actually yelling?

I talk about how quickly people jump to conclusions based on tone and volume, and how often those assumptions create unnecessary hurt, distance, and conflict. This episode explores why loud does not automatically mean angry, aggressive, or unsafe, and how hearing differences, cultural norms, personality styles, stress, and grief all shape the way we communicate.

I break down why our nervous systems default to defense mode, how emotional memory overrides logic, and why silence and walking away often cause more damage than asking one simple question.

This episode is an invitation to pause before assuming, ask before withdrawing, and choose clarity over conclusions.

Because not every raised voice is a raised fight, and curiosity could save a relationship.

Remember,

You can reach out anytime:⁠

sam@griefhab.org⁠

Join the Griefhab Family:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/griefhab7⁠

Join Team Ruthless - for multiple support groups every week and EVERY holiday!

https://samantharuth.com/team-ruthless

Become a Faces of Grief: Surviving Pet Loss Author:

https://samantharuth.com/apply-to-be-an-author

On today’s important episode of The Be Ruthless Show, I address the targeted killing of a licensed mental health counselor inside her Orlando office and the uncomfortable truth the profession avoids. This was not random violence. This was intentional, and it happened in a space designed for healing.

I break down why this loss hits so deeply for clinicians, especially those in private practice, and why empathy, skill, and experience do not make someone immune to physical danger. I speak to the silence within mental health culture around workplace violence, the pressure to internalize risk, and the myth that better boundaries or better therapy could have prevented harm.

This episode challenges the idea that safety measures mean fear, that boundaries provoke violence, or that therapists are responsible for managing other people’s dangerous behavior. I name the ethical tension between duty to care and duty to self, and why being a “good therapist” should never require being a martyr.

This is a conversation about grief, anger, fear, and the collective impact incidents like this have on the field. It is also a call for ruthless honesty about risk, responsibility, and the right of mental health professionals to go home alive.

Content note: This episode discusses workplace violence and death. Listener discretion is advised.

If this episode stirred something in you, you’re not alone. You’re not weak. And you’re not overreacting.

Because compassion is not a bulletproof vest.

Remember, You can reach out anytime:⁠

sam@griefhab.org⁠

Join the Griefhab Family:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/griefhab7⁠

Join Team Ruthless - for multiple support groups every week and EVERY holiday!

https://samantharuth.com/team-ruthless

Become a Faces of Grief: Surviving Pet Loss Author:

https://samantharuth.com/apply-to-be-an-author