Therapy for Teens
Are You Worried About Your Teen?
Have you noticed your teen doesn’t seem like themselves lately?
Are they irritable, withdrawn, stressed out, or overwhelmed by the demands of school and extracurricular activities?
Has your teenage child shown signs of anxiety or depression and might benefit from therapy?
Whether the changes you’ve observed in your child’s behavior developed gradually or seemed to appear overnight, they may have hit a rough patch they’re struggling to overcome. Perhaps they lack the skills to cope with ongoing stressors, such as increasingly challenging academics, or have been impacted by a recent life event, like a divorce or the death of a loved one. Particularly, your child’s mood swings, angry outbursts, or changes in sleep habits and appetite could cause concern.
Your Teen May Have Difficulty Managing Emotions
Not only could self-comparison, low self-esteem, poor body image, or conflict with peers contribute to their distress, but your child could also be exploring their sexuality and/or gender transitioning. If your child is prone to anger and irritability, it might cause stress and tension at home.
Or maybe they’ve become withdrawn. As a parent, you may be uncertain about what’s truly troubling them, especially if your child spends most of their time alone in their room, rarely communicating with you.
Witnessing your child in distress when you’re not sure how to help them is a truly helpless feeling. Fortunately, therapy for teens can provide your child with the skills to navigate life’s challenges. Working closely with a trusted counselor, your teen can learn more effective ways to cope with stress while discovering more about themselves.
Have any questions? Send me a message!
Social Pressure Often Intensifies The Turbulence Of Adolescence
Physiologically, adolescence is a time of transition that includes physical maturity, brain development, and hormonal fluctuations. With so much change happening at once, it's normal for teens to experience more emotional volatility. However, when combined with the unique pressures inherent in our culture, adolescence has become even harder to navigate.
Today’s teens are held to the highest standards both in academics and extracurricular activities. Whether this pressure to perform is self-imposed or external, teens become vulnerable to perfectionism and may equate their self-worth with high achievement.
Additionally, the constant exposure to social media only exacerbates the pressure teens feel to look, think, and behave perfectly. With its endless self-comparison to unrealistic ideals, social media not only negatively impacts body image but also fuels the idea that no matter what we do, we’ll never measure up to what we’re seeing. It can also lead to the fear of missing out, making it harder for your teen to be present.
Teens May Be Reluctant To Ask For Help
Sadly, teenagers often don’t speak up when they are struggling. Even though they may feel overwhelmed or confused, many teens are good at internalizing their stress and pretending things are okay to avoid letting anyone down. For queer or transgender teens, they may fear a lack of acceptance by their parents or bullying and discrimination at school.
As their parent, it’s often up to you to seek the support your child needs but might not be asking for. Therapy for teens is a safe space for your child to find guidance, hope, and coping tools they can take into adulthood.
Therapy For Teens Offers A Safe Outlet To Learn Life Skills
If your child won’t confide in you about why they feel anxious or depressed, you may feel helpless and stuck. And even if they are communicative, your advice and support might not have the impact you’d hoped for. But sometimes older children respond better when they can talk to someone outside of their family.
Counseling for teens offers a safe and supportive space for your child to express themselves and share the challenges they're experiencing with a neutral third party. As a therapist who works with teens, I take special care to consider the unique challenges of adolescence, such as identity formation, peer pressure, and family conflicts.
I aim to help your child gain greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and insight into why they may experience setbacks while helping them develop effective strategies to manage difficult emotions. Working closely with your teen, I can help them cultivate a clearer sense of self that will positively inform how they perceive the world and their place in it.
What To Expect In Sessions
First and foremost, I aim to build trust and rapport with your child. In initial sessions, I will get to know them better, learning about their friendships, academics, hobbies, interests, and family dynamics. We will also explore their stressors and identify what coping skills they are currently using, being mindful to address any underlying issues related to potential substance abuse and/or self-harming behaviors. Along the way, I will provide psychoeducation about anxiety, depression, or whatever else they may struggle with.
Therapy for teens is typically less structured and will be customized age-appropriately to ensure your child feels at ease. Although I will primarily meet with your child individually, incorporating joint sessions with family members may be helpful. While our primary focus will be to nurture your child’s autonomy and independence, your concerns and perspectives will be considered as we work collaboratively to support your teen, both in sessions and at home.
The Modalities I Incorporate Into Therapy For Teens
When working with teens, I often utilize psychodynamic, relational, self-compassion- and acceptance-focused approaches that focus on building resilience and self-esteem. Additionally, mindfulness-based practices, such as breathing, journaling, movement/dance, and art, can help your teen identify triggers and improve emotional regulation. Somatic techniques can also improve their self-awareness and understanding of the mind-body connection.
Some strategies we may explore are:
Increasing emotional intelligence by helping them identity, express, and understand their emotions, while developing healthy ways to cope with them
Focusing on boundary setting and conflict resolution;
Improving communication skills and relationship dynamics;
Exploring your child’s values so they have a clearer sense of their goals and what matters to them;
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) skills to help illustrate the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Although adolescence is a time of significant growth and change, with the right tools, your child can thrive. With therapy, your teen can learn to cope with stressors in healthier ways and improve emotional regulation so they feel more in control. By nurturing self-acceptance, they can enhance their resilience, identify strengths, and build self-esteem that improves their well-being in the long term.
But Maybe You’re Not Sure If Therapy Is Right For Your Teen…
How involved will I be in my teen’s counseling experience?
Your level of involvement often depends on your child's maturity level and the reasons why you’re seeking therapy for your teen. I usually meet with teens alone for their first counseling session to build trust and rapport as their therapist. When appropriate, you'll be asked to join subsequent sessions with them. While most of what your teen shares with me is confidential, I will check in with you periodically and give updates on the progress being made in therapy.
How can I make sure that I’m supporting my teen in between counseling sessions?
Parents can best support therapy for teens by creating a nurturing and stable home environment. Try to respect their privacy and boundaries while also ensuring they know you're available to talk whenever they want to share what’s on their mind. By consistently reinforcing the skills your teen is learning in counseling and maintaining a supportive atmosphere, you can help them feel more confident, secure, and motivated to continue with therapy sessions.
What treatment goals does teenage therapy usually include?
Goals for therapy are always established collaboratively. I consider your concerns and perspectives while also focusing on what your child wants to work on. While it will depend on their unique needs, common goals for teen therapy are emotional regulation and anger management, relationship building, effective communication and coping skills, and enhancing self-esteem. If applicable, therapy for teens can also address body image issues, gender identity, and LGBTQIA+ youth counseling.
With Tailored Support, Your Teen Can Thrive
Working together, we can help your child develop the skills to navigate life’s challenges. To find out more about in-person or online therapy for teens with me, please call (310) 728-9729 or visit my contact page.
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Therapy for Teens
in Los Angeles
627 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004