BEING A TEENAGER IS HARD!
Not only is your body changing but your brain is too.
In fact, recent scientific research has shown that teenage brains go through a process of complete re-wiring which doesn’t stop until your early to mid-twenties! And while this is happening, somehow you are expected to do well in everything, make the right choices when you are allowed to, and live with other people’s rules and expectations on a daily basis.
Therapy can be a place to vent and to learn a little more about yourself.
It can be helpful to hear that many teenagers struggle with similar feelings and concerns. Together we can also figure out some tools and ideas to better cope with some of the pressures you may be feeling.
What we talk about in individual therapy sessions remains confidential.
Sometimes a teen will contact me directly, and sometimes a parent will call on their child’s behalf to set up the first appointment. Either way, our sessions are confidential (in other words between us), except for a very few exceptions. There may also be times when it helps to meet with you and your parent/s together, even if it’s just for a session or two. Often parents and teens find themselves having the same fights again and again, or blowing up at each other even though they really don’t want to. I can help you reconnect and understand each other better, which usually leads to less arguing, stronger relationships, and a much more peaceful house!
Some examples of issues and concerns that can bring teens into counseling:
- help in dealing with academic and/or social pressures
- concern about unhealthy behaviors such as drinking alcohol or experimenting with drugs
- issues surrounding food or body image, disordered eating or other self-harm behaviors
- relationship questions or concerns
- anxiety
- depression or general feeling of “the blues”
- feelings of being overwhelmed
- sexual identity or other sexual issues
- help in figuring out your values and planning for the future