We’ve talked a lot about the brain in these segments for a very good reason. It was the common conventional wisdom, even among many professionals, that the brain did not change after childhood. In another words, it was believed that the early years of life were where the action was. So why would we bother with prevention, except in childhood, a time when it was assumed that change was still possible.

Some early writers, especially those who worked with adolescents in therapy, proposed that adolescence was a second chance to put kids on the right track. However, even this group was far from understanding how that actually happened in the brain which was presumed to be rather fixed.

Contemporary neuroscience has now illuminated our understanding of the brain. One central insight is that the brain is malleable, especially during sensitive periods like adolescence, and that it can change with practice. This characteristic is called neuroplasticity.