Being a teenager is not always easy and just like adults, you may be feeling stuck, overwhelmed, unhappy, or emotionally out of control. You may be experiencing difficulties in school, in relationships with friends or family, or difficulty making healthy decisions. You also may be under a lot of stress, taking things out on those you love most– your friends and your family.

Therapy for teens is an invaluable opportunity that helps adolescents make sense of themselves, their behaviors and interactions with others during this critical time of development. It is vitally important for children to have caring adults that they can trust and talk with to help them sort through the challenges that life brings. Sometimes teens just need someone different to parents and family to talk with, and that’s okay. This is where I can help!

Reasons for seeking individual therapy for teens may include:

• Academic and school related difficulties
• Anxiety
• Anger management
• Bullying
• Body image issues
• Depression
• Drug and alcohol concerns
• Grief and loss
• Relationship issues and interpersonal conflict
• Perfectionism
• Gender and sexuality
• Stress
• Social isolation
• Significant life changes (moving, parental divorce or separation, new school, health crisis in the family, etc)
• Impulsive and/or risky behavior

How can I help?

My work with teenagers often focuses on the following:

• Healthy coping strategies and behavioral change
• Addressing relationship challenges and how interpersonal events affect emotions
• Improving self-esteem
• Anger management skills
• Clarifying and addressing barriers to wellbeing
• Social skills
• Identifying and changing harmful thought patterns
• Improving communication, problem solving, and decision making skills
• Reducing at-risk behaviors
• Strengthening vital skills such as emotion regulation, empathy, assertiveness, and self-awareness

How does it work?

As each young person is unique, so must be the manner in which we work together. I understand that scheduling an initial therapy appointment can often provoke anxiety for kids. This is why I ask that we schedule an initial session that includes the young person and their parent/guardian. This initial session will allow us the opportunity to gather information and determine the structure of therapy that will best suit the young person’s needs. Depending on their level of comfort, sessions may be with a parent and teenager together, with the teen alone, or a combination of both where appropriate. Together with the child’s input, we will discuss and decide on next steps.

If you are a parent reading this, regardless of the age of your child, trust your instincts. If you think something’s going on with him or her, be curious about it and contact me today for support.