Teen Therapy
Is Your Teen Struggling With Their Mental Health?
Sometimes, trying to help your teenager can be like trying to coach your kid in a sport. As helpful as you can be, they’re more likely to listen to a professional coach than you. They want support and validation outside of the home, which is why seeking therapy is so important.
Maybe you’ve already done your best to help your teenager, but they’re reluctant to tell you what’s going on. Perhaps they’re good at masking their troubles and pretending that everything is okay. Yet as time has gone on, it’s become increasingly clear that they’re struggling with their mental health. As a result, you might be considering talking to a therapist who specializes in working with teens.
Parenting A Struggling Teen Is Hard, Especially When They Want Independence
Let’s face it: you’ve probably done all you can to help your teenager. Yet the more you try to get involved, the more they may withdraw. This can make you feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. After all, you don’t want to see your teenager struggling, but you also don’t want to be a helicopter parent and get in the way of their desire for independence.
At RealTalkCT, our counselors are trained and equipped to help teens improve their mental health, boost their confidence, and increase their ability to navigate issues independently. Whether your teenager is dealing with anxiety, depression, or any other challenges, our therapists specialize in working with teens, so you can rest assured that your child is in good hands.
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Teenagers Today Face More Pressures Than Ever Before
In today’s world, teens are faced with the impossible task of being adults before they reach adulthood. They’re supposed to know who they are and have their lives figured out in advance. And in the age of social media, they’re also expected to look and act like influencers and models who are much older than them.
Naturally, this kind of culture sets teenagers up for disappointment, since nobody can accurately map out their future at 15. What’s more, it also takes the fun and enjoyment out of their youth, putting intense pressure on teens to succeed socially and academically. So it’s no wonder that so many teens are struggling with anxiety and depression and looking to therapy for deeper support.
Screening A Teenager For Mental Health Issues Can Set Them Up To Thrive
Many parents don’t feel the need to have their children screened for mental health issues, largely because these issues can be hard to detect in their teens’ everyday behavior. But just as every kid needs a physical from time to time, it’s very important for them to have mental health checkups, too. After all, self-awareness is the key to a teenager’s growth and development. When they understand their struggles with anxiety, depression, or ADHD, it becomes much easier for them to regulate their symptoms and achieve emotional stability.
If you want to ensure that your teenager has the mental health support they need to thrive in life, then we encourage you to reach out to us and find out how we can help your teenager during this time of transition.
Empower Your Teen With The Gift Of Counseling
RealTalkCT is a national group practice with therapists licensed in most US states, and we have a team full of practitioners who specialize in working with teens. Our practice offers a space where teens can relax and be themselves instead of having to live up to someone else’s expectations. Our office has therapy dogs that love to interact with clients and make them feel welcome. We also have art therapists on staff who can engage with teens through creativity, utilizing painting, drawing, and other activities to help them express themselves.
Needless to say, we go out of our way to make counseling comfortable for teens. Whether they want to talk through their mental health issues or they simply want a space where they can unwind and sit with their thoughts, we are here for them. After all, rapport-building is the most essential part of the healing process—as long as there is a good therapist-client relationship, everything else usually falls into place.
What To Expect In Teen Counseling Sessions
Oftentimes, teens have trouble verbalizing their emotional concerns. At RealTalkCT, our therapists use Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help teens articulate how they’re feeling so that their emotions don’t leak out in unhealthy behaviors. IFS teaches teens to view feelings as individual “parts” that are trying to help them (e.g., a self-sabotaging part may be trying to protect them from failure; a depressed part may be trying to guard them against disappointment). When teens are in tune with their parts, they can make sense of what’s going on in their minds and bodies and take actions that align with what they want in life.
Additionally, we take a very strengths-based approach to teen counseling. Sometimes teenagers aren’t fully aware of their strengths—we try to help them leverage what they already do well so that they can cope with stress more effectively. This, in turn, can empower them to improve their self-esteem and feel more confident in who they are.
Although we’ll give your teen autonomy over their treatment process, we want to enlist you as an ally on their journey. We recognize the value of the parent-child relationship, since it is essential to each teenager’s growth and development. By collaborating with you and equipping your teen with real-life skills for coping with life’s challenges, we believe that we can help them navigate this time of great change.
You May Have Some Questions And Concerns About Teen Counseling…
What if my teen is too busy for counseling?
While we understand that your teenager is busy, their mental health is the most important area of their life. That’s why we always encourage parents to check in on their teenagers’ mental health more than grades. Empowering them with the gift of therapy can set them up for social, emotional, academic, and career success.
What’s more, we are very accommodating to teenagers with full schedules and many of our therapists offer appointment times in the evening and on weekends. We also utilize telehealth, which makes it easy for teens to see counselors from their home, their car, or wherever they are most comfortable. Although we are a hybrid practice, about 95 percent of our sessions are online.
What if my teenager doesn’t want to talk?
At RealTalkCT, our counselors are used to working with teens on the shy side. If your teen isn’t very talkative, that’s okay. We have therapy dogs and lots of creative activities that we can use to engage with them and help them feel at ease.
In the beginning, we’ll usually start by letting your teen talk about their interests, hobbies, and favorite things—almost like a celebrity-style interview. This is an essential part of building rapport and establishing trust. Once that’s accomplished, it becomes much easier for teens to talk about their struggles. Most of the teens we see feel comfortable when they recognize that we are on their side and our sessions are confidential.
What role will I play in my teen’s therapy?
It’s vital for teens to feel like they are in the driver’s seat of their therapeutic experience, so how involved you are in your teen’s therapy is essentially up to them. If your teen decides not to have you join them for sessions, we encourage you not to take it personally—they need an unbiased space where they can explore their mental health on their own terms. And if there is any information that we feel you should know, we will communicate with your teen about the best way to share it with you.
Be An Ally On Your Teen’s Journey Toward Healing And Empowerment
If you want to ensure that your teen is well-equipped to deal with anxiety, depression, and all the ups and downs of the teenage years, we encourage you to pursue therapy with us. To get started, call 959-210-6800 or use our contact page to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!
Serving clients in AL, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, KS, MA, MD, MO, NC, NH, NM, NY, OK, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, and WY, with more locations coming soon.