Teens

The teen years a notoriously challenging times for often both the teen and caregiver(s). Teens are often told that everyone is going through the same thing or “I remember what it was like when I was a teen” and while the intention is to provide empathy and understanding to the teen, it can inadvertently can lead the teen to feel ignored about their individual experience.

Of course there are commonalities that happen across the teens years and life span in general such as identify changes and development, body changes/puberty, increased desire for independence, social/romantic relationships, peer pressure, academic pressures, and more. This is also all occurring while the teenage brain is going through significant changes which is evident by some of the decisions, impulsiveness, lack of foresight, etc. that occurs during adolescence (highly recommend the book Brainstorm by Dan Siegel for information regarding the teenage brain and I am in no way affiliated with that book or receive any benefits from book).

However, the teenage years can also bring about great joy, pride, and a new closeness that could not be foster in the same way in younger years. One can start to see the person they are and/or wish to be and that their child is or wishes to be. Such a significant time period of life!

A note to potential caregiver(s): My goal is to provide a space for your child to feel open and free to be themselves without any judgement, consequences, pressures, etc. If they feel as though I am just another adult telling them the same things they’ve already heard from everyone else, the conversations will be as effective as the ones that are already creating frustration at home, school, and elsewhere. Privacy is also extremely important because if the teen feels as though counseling is a way of getting information out of them and back to caregiver(s), then they will stop sharing. And we can’t help, change, or address anything that we don’t know about.

A note to potential teen clients: I’m not her to “fix” you or think that anything is “wrong with you”. What I often tell my teen clients is that I just hope for things to be easier for you. So if you are struggling with x, y, or z or if x, y, or z is hard for you, maybe we can figure out some things to help. Or maybe you just need a place that is for you and you have more freedom without judgements. I am an advocate for all of my clients and that even includes advocating for you if you don’t want to go to counseling anymore. I challenge you though to give it a try as it might not be what you think.