Motivational speaker, author Josh Shipp to host Lifetime’s ‘Teen Trouble’

Lifetime has announced the pick up of a new series entitled Teen Trouble featuring teen behavior specialist Josh Shipp. After reading up on Josh I found his life story to be highly compelling and it certainly has me motivated to see the upcoming docu-series slated for a December 28th premiere.

Via the official press release:

Lifetime has picked up the all-new gripping series Teen Trouble, hosted by teen behavior specialist, author and motivational speaker Josh Shipp. In each episode, Shipp serves as the last hope for troubled families desperate to save their out-of-control teens and gives them the critical help they need to avoid tragedy. He will embed himself into the hidden lives of at-risk teens on dangerous, self-destructive paths – taking drugs, stealing from their families, abusing alcohol and breaking the law. Born an orphan and bounced around in many different foster homes until he figured out how to turn a mess into a message, Shipp has been through it all and has an unconventional method to get through to teens and their parents.

When you’ve made it your life’s ambition and professional career to try and understand how the mind of a teenager works you’ve got my respect. The critical years between ages 13-19 are not only formative but set the foundation for who we all become as adults.

Here is Josh via his official YouTube channel explaining the concept of Teen Trouble in further detail:

During the clip one distraught mother asks, “How do I deal with a kid that is ungovernable?” That’s a hell of a question and Josh states how we’ll get an intimate look into his intervention work with what are labeled as some of the most troubled teens in America on the show:

“The film crew documented hundreds of hours of my private intervention work and they have pieced together an insanely compelling and inspiring documentary series. They have captured the best of my work and edited it into a moving story that shows that change is possible for anyone.”

Via Josh Shipp’s official website he provides an impressive list of credentials and accolades for a young man who is, as of this post, only 30-years-old.

• Author of the highly regarded book, “The Teen’s Guide to World Domination.”

• His expertise is frequently sought out on networks and media outlets including but not limited to MTV, CNN, FOX, The New York Times, and MSNBC.

Here is his official media reel featuring some of the above referenced appearances:

“If you don’t figure out who you are someone else will tell you who you are.” – Josh Shipp.

• He’s a sought out speaker having made appearances at notable institutions including Harvard, M.I.T., UCLA and Stanford.

Perhaps the most important, or better said relevant, experience for Shipp was his own hard upbringing as a child. Until the age of 14 Josh lived from home to home in various foster care situations where he says he was both physically and mentally abused. During an upcoming episode he informs a young man he’s working with that he had been raped during his time in foster care.

Via Inc. where he was listed on the 30 Under 30 list of America’s coolest young entrepreneurs:

“I went through all this unfortunate stuff, and there was a point in my life where I assumed I was the only one in the entire world that was in foster care or didn’t know his parents. The way I dealt with it was, I ate a bunch of food, became overweight, was picked on, and became suicidal.”

A high school teacher encouraged him to speak out about his problems and he’s been doing just that ever since.

Josh has had a weekly advice show featuring posts on YouTube called “HeyJosh.” Here’s a taste of Shipp’s approach and style in a post about friendships and regret:

And here are some of the more important links for all things Josh Shipp, host of Teen Trouble:

Official website, official site for Teen Trouble, Twitter, Facebook, HeyJoshTV, YouTube official channel, booking for speaking engagements.

From all accounts Teen Trouble, executive producers Ellen Rakieten (The Oprah Winfrey Show, Losing it with Jillian) and Bryn Freedman (Intervention, Who Do You Think You Are?), should be fascinating and educational TV. And we all know if the drama is centered around the tribulations of teens the fireworks will be prevalent and explosive.

Photos: JoshShipp.com