Overview
What you'll achieve
Break the cycle of academic anxiety, avoidance, or perfectionism
Build confidence to face hard classes, tests, and assignments without shutting down
Develop the self-awareness to understand what's driving their struggle, not just manage the surface behavior
Strengthen resilience — the ability to recover from setbacks and keep going
Navigate major transitions (grade-level changes, high school to college) with more clarity and less overwhelm
Who this is for
Teens who feel capable but don't feel confident — freezing up on tests, avoiding writing, or shutting down under pressure
High achievers quietly burning out under their own expectations
Students who used to enjoy learning but now dread it
Families navigating a grade-level transition, where academic and emotional stakes rise together
Teens whose academic struggles are about something deeper
Verified Top Expert
Dru Cartier
Academic Coach
Portland, United States
2 years experience
I'm Dru, a Teen Development Coach with dual Master's degrees in Adolescent Developmental Counseling and Teaching English. I am also a Teen Resilience Coach, certified through Youth Coaching Institute's ICF-accredited program.
I've spent 10+ years working directly with students — not just on academics, but on the emotional side of learning that so often gets missed. I've seen firsthand how a teen who is very capable can still freeze up under pressure, how perfectionism can quietly turn into burnout, and how the right support at the right moment can change the whole trajectory of how a student sees themselves and their futures.
My coaching sits at the intersection of academics and emotional development — I help teens reconnect the struggle in front of them (a hard class, test anxiety, a shutdown around writing) to the bigger picture of who they're becoming. I also work with parents navigating the ups and downs of raising a teen, and with college students figuring out who they are once the structure of high school is gone.
Sessions are 1:1, 45 minutes, and built around exactly what you or your teen need in that moment — no fixed curriculum, no pressure to commit to a package. Just real support, when you need it.
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