Your teenager is
forming an identity.
Read the map.
A researcher, professor, and keynote speaker helping parents understand what is actually happening inside their teenager — and what to do about it.
Formation
& Phones
The accessible talk for any parent navigating screens, identity, and a teenager who seems unreachable. Booked at school parent nights, church events, and parenting conferences.
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Legacy Starts
With Identity
A keynote for parents who have built something and are asking whether their child has the interior formation to carry it. For YPO, EO, family offices, and private school audiences.
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Where is your teenager
on the identity map?
The Identity Status Assessment gives you a clear read — Floater, Performer, Seeker, or Rooted — and a path forward based on where your teenager actually is.
No email required to see results.
The researcher
behind the
framework
Dr. Lem Usita earned his doctorate at Biola University in 2010, where his dissertation examined adolescent identity formation in online spaces. His research is built on the foundational work of developmental psychologist James Marcia — whose four identity statuses remain the most rigorous framework for understanding how teenagers form a sense of self.
As a professor, former Vice President of Student Life, and founder of Identity Specialist LLC, Dr. Usita has spent two decades translating academic research into language parents can actually use — in the room, with their real teenager.
James Marcia’s four identity statuses — translated for parents.
Based on the identity status theory of Dr. James Marcia (1966).
Let’s put the framework to work.
Whether you’re booking a talk, starting with the assessment, or exploring parent coaching — there is a right next step for where you are.
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