Could Play Therapy Benefit Your Teen?
The teenage years are a dramatically transformational phase. It’s not uncommon for parents and children to struggle during this time.
You may be worried about your teen’s risky behavior, or perhaps they need help managing intense emotions. It may be more difficult for you to connect with your teenager than it has been in the past. For both parent and child, the shift from child to teenager isn’t easy.
Parents work hard at helping their teens become mature, responsible adults. At this age, teenagers are now making many decisions on their own, yet they exhibit intense emotional outbursts — and parents’ abilities to keep them safe is harder than ever before. Unfortunately, when dealing with the complex emotions of a teenager, many parents feel at a loss of how to help them.
Your teenager may not welcome the idea of going to counseling, and it may be more difficult to get them to participate than it would with a younger child. They may think that a counselor will lecture them, and as a result, will put up walls to both the idea of counseling and the therapist.
In our experience, once teenagers realize that counseling is a safe space to express everything they have inside, teenagers start using their sessions very creatively. They will open up to their counselor and be able to bounce off thoughts and feelings about their parents, their friends, and their lives’ stressors.
The most common struggles teenagers address through Play Therapy are:
Behavior problems
Family relationships
Peer-related issues
Healthy self-image development
Life changes, such as divorce, moves, grief, and loss
Questions about the future
Questions about sexuality
Independence
Traumatic experiences
Intense emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or feelings of depression
These are some ways in which creative counseling or Play Therapy can help your teen:
Poor Decision-Making: Teenagers are at a time in life when they’re discovering a new sense of control. They realize they can make their own decisions and are practicing important skills, like independence and autonomy. But, this independence can also result in disregarding parental advice. Instead, they make decisions based on their friend’s opinions or newly discovered thrills, which can be very scary for a parent. Not knowing what your child could get into while you aren’t present can be extremely stressful, especially if your teen doesn’t have the best track record in good decisions. With the supportive outlet that comes from counseling, however, they have a safe environment for processing their thoughts and feelings with their counselor, so they start making better decisions and foster a more peaceful home life.
Managing Intense Emotions: Teenagers deal with a lot of changes. Peer pressure, performance anxiety, self-doubt, self-image, self-esteem - all of these emotions can become very stressful aspects of a teenager’s day-to-day life. And when children have always had a hard time managing their emotions, they may struggle even more now as a teen. Temper tantrums become yelling matches. They might find that ignoring their parents now gives them a lot of power. And life events such as parental divorce, moves, school changes, or loss can trigger even deeper, more complex feelings of sadness, depression, worry, and anxiety. With counseling, teenagers can learn to calm themselves, think before they act, and reduce their explosive outbursts. With balanced emotions, they can learn better in school, build healthier relationships, and find meaning and purpose.
Difficult & Traumatic Experiences: When teenagers experience traumatic life experiences, such as a divorce, they need space and a trusted relationship to process these changes. Teenagers may not speak to their parents about how they feel because they don’t want to hurt their parents’ feelings. They may also feel guilty or ashamed. Outwardly, this emotional response may look like they are blaming you, or they could be secretly blaming themselves. Counseling can help a teenager have a safe, objective environment for discussing thoughts and feelings they may be unable to share with their parents and family. A safe space to express themselves can help your teen in overcoming traumatic experiences and achieving growth.
ADHD: Children with ADHD struggle with poor decision-making, difficulties managing their emotions, anger outbursts, and much more. ADHD can become more difficult to handle during the teen years.The teen and their parents have struggled for years completing tasks that require focus and attention, which can leave parents drained and frustrated. Fortunately, counseling can help! Play Therapy uses dynamic activities that teach kids to stop and think before acting, learn to focus, follow directions, and manage their emotions.
Play Therapy for teenagers involves using games, art, and other creative outlets to help teens process their thoughts and feelings. It is our experience that teenagers enjoy their counseling sessions because they trust their therapist, who engages them according to their strengths and likes.
Click here for more on teen counseling.
If your teen is struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ll pair them with a therapist who is most likely to make a personal connection and help your child succeed.
