Adolescence, the teenage years, can be a difficult time in everyone’s life…..the teen as well as for parents. While there are many opportunities for growth, there are specific challenges that adolescents go through and need guidance to help them get on a good pathway to adult life. Parenting can be a challenge as this is the time where the teen wants to exert their independence and the parent wants to still have a level of control over outcomes. You want the best for your child, but sometimes that effort leads to conflict.
Counseling can help adolescents in a variety of ways. They can receive emotional support, learn conflict resolution skills, understand feelings and problems, and try out new solutions for problems. Goals for therapy may be specific (improved relations with friends or family) or more general (less anxiety). Counseling can also be for the family unit by helping to create a level of understanding between the teen and the parent.
It is important to know that therapy with adolescents is often not a quick fix or the easy answer to an immediate problem. It is a complex process that, over time, can reduce symptoms, provide insight, and improve a young person’s functioning and quality of life. Building a relationship between the therapist and teen while establishing the trust necessary to do work in therapy is a process.
I enjoy working with and connect well with the adolescent ages of 11-18. The time period of the teenage years, and how they develop, is crucial to their success as they move forward into adulthood.
Contact me today to see if therapy is the right answer for your teen…..or to help you as a parent!