Teen Therapy
Is your teen or young adult's behavior concerning you?
- Are you the parent of a troubled teen or young adult in need of counseling?
- Have you noticed that your teen seems more withdrawn lately and spends most of their time in their room?
- Have they become closed off and stopped communicating with you?
Perhaps your teen or young adult is troubled and doesn’t know how to communicate that to you. They may feel self-conscious and suffer from low self-esteem or feelings of inadequacy compared to their peers.
In order to fit in, they may have succumbed to peer pressure and as a result, have started to act out in self-destructive ways.
Or maybe you’re concerned that your teen suffers from anxiety or depression because of the pressure that they are under due to academic performance or the prospect of getting accepted into a competitive college.
Longing to be free
As they strive for independence from you, your teen may have become somewhat defiant, angry and rebellious.
Their desire for privacy, has made it impossible for you to know what they are thinking or feeling.
You may wish that you could just have an open conversation with them to talk about what’s going on, but they insist on shutting you out.
Their desire for privacy, has made it impossible for you to know what they are thinking or feeling.
You may wish that you could just have an open conversation with them to talk about what’s going on, but they insist on shutting you out.
Heal
Grow
Grow
Thrive
ALTERNATIVELY, PERHAPS YOU ARE A
young adult in need of counseling.
Maybe you’re in college and finding it difficult to make new friends or you’re having difficulty navigating a romantic relationship, while balancing the demands of school. You may suffer from social anxiety but feel under pressure to join a sorority or fraternity just to prove that you are the perfect, all-around college student.
Or perhaps you are struggling with making the transition from college to the real world, worried about how you will support yourself once you are living on your own for the first time and starting your first job.
The good news is that teen and young adult therapy can help you navigate this turbulent period. By receiving passionate guidance and support for you challenges, you can feel empowered to face the future with confidence.
I am enough
Making a smooth transition to adulthood is more challenging than ever
Being a teen or young adult certainly doesn’t come without it’s challenges.
Trying to balance our independence and being our own unique person, while still under the thumb of our parents is not an easy task for most of us facing the stage of life.
According to the developmental psychologist, Erik son, it is normal part of a teen’s development to want more privacy and to not want to share as much with their parent’s as they used to.
Teens have always had a hard time making a smooth transition into adulthood, but because of the increasing pressure that they are under to achieve, this transition has become even more challenging.
It’s not surprising that anxiety and depression in teens are on the rise, considering the demands that they are under to submit the perfect college application: writing their college essay, impeccable academics, extracurricular activities, sports, community volunteering – it’s a high bar. However, feeling the pressure to achieve perfection, often comes at the expense of emotional well-being.
Trying to make it on your own is difficult
Unfortunately, after all the pressure they have endured to attend the best college, young adults may find the other side of the rainbow to be a crushing disappointment. These days, once young adults graduate from college, they may find themselves forced to live back home because they cannot afford to live on their own, especially if they have student loans to pay off.
Moreover, with the ubiquity of social media, teens are growing up faster than ever – and yet they appear less equipped to handle the realities of life. They are exposed to the warped perception that everyone always looks great and is perpetually happy, but this is unrealistic and , in some cases, dangerous. Being immersed in the virtual reality of social media, can make teens feel worse about themselves and even more alienated at a time in their lives when they are already vulnerable to insecurities and low self-esteem.
Teen therapy offers hope
Therapy for teens and young adults can provide them with the the support and skills they need to turn a new leaf and find better, more positive ways of communicating.
With counseling, your teen or young adult can gain the confidence they need to make this transition in their lives more enjoyable and worry -free.
Teen therapy can help young people navigate
the challenges they are facing
As a teen, I remember mustering up the courage to tell my parents that I was unhappy with myself and felt depressed. Getting into therapy was a game-changer for me. It helped me learn how to take care of myself, voice my feelings, and know myself in a way that I couldn’t do on my own.
As a teen therapist, I aim to offer the same judgment-free environment to young people that I was lucky enough to benefit from myself. Sometimes young people feel very alone—they may have no one to confide in about how they’re feeling. For teens and young adults to successfully engage in therapy, it’s essential that they establish a good rapport with their therapist and not view them as another parental figure or stuffy adult. My informal approach seeks to break down barriers by creating a casual setting for young people. I will often offer or promote creative self-expression if I sense that inclination in a young person.
My approach
In our initial session together, I will assess how they’re feeling and offer guidance and ideas of how they can better handle challenging situations that may arise, such as feeling left out in their social group or struggling with self-esteem.
Sometimes the problems they face only require brief solution-oriented therapy, while other teens and young adults may require more in-depth counseling for issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and drug or alcohol abuse.
Why do I think this way?
In ongoing sessions, I will help your teen or young adult understand the root cause of a problem and how it is negatively affecting their present life experiences.
We will work on changing their distorted ways of thinking and replace negative or untrue thoughts with ones that reflect a more accurate picture of who they really are. In addition, we will build up their communication skills so that they can better convey their thoughts and feelings to others, which will improve their relationships with parents, friends, and partners.
By teaching mindfulness, I will help them become more aware of the relationship between their feelings, thoughts, and actions.
I will also teach them relaxation and breathing exercises to help them reduce stress and anxiety as well as methods of self-care that will help them gain self-esteem.
Additionally, I will show them how to break down overarching goals into smaller, more manageable tasks so they won’t feel as overwhelmed by school or other obligations.
Self-Awareness
Through therapy, your teen or young adult will better understand themselves and the reasons why they may be feeling upset or acting out certain destructive patterns of behavior.
They will gain insight as to how their experiences have played a part in shaping who they are, how they feel about themselves, and how to make positive changes today as well as in the future.
But you may be wondering, whether therapy is right for your teen or young adult.......
As they strive to become independent, your teen may think it’s not cool to show their vulnerabilities or admit they’re struggling. What your teen may benefit to know is that therapy is a place they can go where they can be themselves and share honestly what they are experiencing, thinking, and feeling without fear of judgment. Feeling troubled is nothing to be embarrassed about and teen counseling can ease their load.
I want you to know that your teen is in good hands. While I am bound to uphold client confidentiality, there are certain circumstances where I make exceptions. If your teen is at risk of hurting themselves or someone else, not only am I legally mandated to report this to you, I want to include you in your teen’s difficulties. Even if their issues are not life-threatening but still serious, I will let your teen know that I am concerned and would like to get you involved. I will offer to be a bridge between you and your teen.
Your teen may be unhappy but could be trying to hide it because they don’t know how to deal with their feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, anxiety, school-related stress, or being out of step with their peers. They may not want to disappoint or upset you. A therapist can help your teen overcome their shyness and bring them out of themselves by asking them questions with curiosity and compassion and by sharing some of their own experiences to help make a connection. I can help them learn to communicate what they’re feeling, offer guidance, and teach them coping strategies to help alleviate their stress or pain.
With therapy, young people can find a smoother path into adulthood
Even if your teen is troubled and all hope seems lost, I feel confident that therapy can help them confront their issues and learn better ways to handle life's challenges.
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