THERAPY FOR TEENS

TEENS & ADOLECENTS

Simply stated, the teenage years are often hard. During this period, your child is learning how to be more independent, learning who they want to be in the world, attempting to be responsible, maybe they are dating for the first time, and often dealing with social as well as academic pressures that are very different from the experiences than you or I had. It’s not uncommon for this time to feel turbulent and confusing for both the parents and the adolescent as everyone is adjusting to new roles that seem to be ever changing. Therapy is a great resource for your teen to give them the skills to flourish as they transition into adulthood. At The Houston Center for Valued Living, we encourage adolescents by helping them learn healthy coping skills for many of these situations in a confidential environment.

Mental Health

We know that teens can develop various anxiety disorders, OCD, depression and at times even conduct issues. When these issues present themselves during adolescence it’s important to reach out for help sooner rather than later, as they can have a vast impact on your child’s ability to focus in school and maintain social relationships. Through therapy your teen will learn to recognize signs of unhealthy coping and develop new skills to help them manage and succeed. 

Social and Adjustment Concerns

• Loss of a friend/loved one

• Learning to navigate social media

• Questions about sexuality

• Dating, sex, sexting

• Social relationship changing

• Transitioning into adulthood (what does this mean to your teen)

• Preparing for college (there is a lot to do and over the years we’ve seen an increase in pressure on students and their anxiety/stress going up through the college process

• Bullying

• Parental Divorce how can parents make this an easier process for their kids

• Move/Changing schools leaving friends or making new ones

  Above are a handful of life changes and concerns that can cause psychological stress to your teen. This can be a particularly tough time for parents as you may see them struggling, but your teen might not want to discuss certain issues with you. Therapy can be a great tool that provides a safe place to develop the tools and confidence to succeed as they confront and overcome the various challenges life presents them.

What to expect

Therapy with adolescents (under 18) is a little different from therapy for kids and adults. It’s important that your teen feels comfortable to open up and discuss important yet sensitive topics for therapy to be successful. This means they need a certain level of autonomy and privacy in therapy.

In an effort to support this autonomy for teens, The Houston Center for Valued Living provides a supportive environment by assuring teens therapy sessions will primarily be with the therapist and teen. We know that this gives teens the opportunity to open up about things that they may be hesitant to share with their parents present.

As needed, we will do a “check in” with parents which can be done at the parents or teens request as part of the session or by scheduling a phone call. This gives parents an opportunity to express any concerns or positive changes you’ve noticed since the last session.

Giving client’s “homework” is staple of therapy today, when working with teens we find it important to ask for the parents’ assistance in any session homework the teen has if necessary. Other than check-ins and the time or two they will need your help with homework, we ask parents to give the therapist and teen the opportunity to work together one-on-one.

Know that should your teen disclose risky, unsafe behaviors, or admits they are thinking of hurting themselves the therapist will encourage your teen to discuss this with you during that session, or if the teen is uncomfortable in doing so, the therapist will inform the parents directly. Above all else, we want your teen to be safe and we will work closely with you, the parent, if this is a concern.