Counseling for Teens
Giving Teens the Tools to Flourish
The teenage years are a critical period of development. Children's brains continue to grow well into their 20s impacting their cognitive, emotional, and social development and skills. Teens face challenges related to identity formation, managing increased responsibilities, navigating complex social relationships, and becoming more autonomous. Although teens have frequently been portrayed in pop culture as dramatic, moody, and defiant, I find that this simplistic portrayal is a disservice to the complex lives that teens live and minimizes the challenges and pressures that teens face today. The onset for almost 50% of adult mental health disorders occur by age 14. Adolescence is a critical period to intervene with mental health challenges. It is also a period to help youth foster critical social-emotional skills and develop healthy habits to promote emotional wellness across the lifespan.
Counseling May Be Helpful If Your Teen
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Feels depressed, worthless hopeless or irritable
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Feels overly anxious or fearful
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Avoids everyday interactions due to fear and distress
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Talks about suicide or death
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Intentionally causes harm to themselves by cutting, scratching, hitting, burning
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Reports suicidal ideation
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Has an intense need to clean, organize, or perform rituals
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Prefers to spend most of their time isolated
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Uses alcohol or drugs
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Displays difficulty sustaining attention
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Experiences significant weight loss/weight gain
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Causes physical harm to animals, people, or property
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Experiences disruptive sleep or sleeps excessively
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Academic difficulties or academic decline
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Has lost someone they are close to
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Has endured a traumatic event
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Has experienced big changes (i.e., divorce/separation, caregiver chronic illness)
What does counseling for teens look like?
For tweens and teens feeling heard and understood is critical to developing a trusting relationship that lends to overcoming difficulties. I take the time to get to know your teen and orient them to the therapeutic process from the initial intake session. During the intake session, I devote time to meet with the parents and teen together and separately. This separate time with the teen allows me to develop rapport with the teen and gather their input about their experiences, concerns, and how they would like psychotherapy to benefit them. I will review the intake and specific goals for treatment with both the teen and caregiver, and revisit these goals periodically with your teen during treatment so we can make adjustments. This process empowers teens by giving them ownership of their treatment. During treatment I also devote significantly more time to psychoeducation and give additional structure to support teen's goals.
At Flourish Psychology and Wellness my aim is to provide clients with an environment that fosters feelings of safety, respect, and support.