Teen Counseling
Teens Naturally Have A Difficult Time Managing Emotions
While teenagers yearn for acceptance from their peers and parents, they ultimately want the autonomy to be who they want to be. So, they’re naturally caught in a whirlwind of complex emotions.
Your teen may be irritable, moody, or argumentative. They may have body image issues, feelings of low self-worth, or even panic attacks. Or perhaps they’ve suddenly lost interest in activities they once loved.
Conversely, you may worry that your teen is putting too much pressure on themselves to excel in academics or extracurriculars. Or maybe you’re hoping that therapy can help your teenager overcome challenges with anxiety, depression, or trauma that’s holding them back.
The Teenage Years Can Be Challenging For Numerous Reasons
Teens are naturally bombarded by overwhelming emotions that can make them lash out or withdraw from others. Even though you want to communicate and make a connection, it seems like they just shut down and numb their feelings with their phone or video games.
They could be exploring their sexual orientation, gender identity, or romantic relationships for the first time, but they’re unsure of where they fit into everything. Or maybe they’re experiencing bullying, peer pressure, sudden shifts in behavior, or even thoughts of self-harm that make you worry for their safety and well-being.
At LaunchPad Counseling, our teen therapists understand just how difficult the teenage years are, and we want to help. With our support, it is possible to get through to your teenager, safeguard their well-being, and help them make better choices in life.
Have any questions? Send us a message!
Why Do Teenagers Seem To Have Such A Hard Time?
Many people theorize that the rise of social media and our dependence on it for staying connected—especially during the pandemic—could play a part. Additionally, teens now have this sense that the whole world is watching them, so they feel like they have to be perfect all the time. They regularly compare themselves to peers online and feel obligated to present themselves in the best light.
That feeling of being constantly judged for their perfection—as well as their mistakes—creates huge amounts of stress and self-worth issues. No matter how much we try to shield our teens, they are also affected by stressors like climate change, political divides, school shootings, and anti-LGBTQ+ violence, which can cause underlying feelings of worry or anxiety for them (and their parents).
It’s estimated that a whopping 31.9 percent of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old have an anxiety disorder. (1) And according to one source, "Teen anxiety and depression grew more from 2019 to 2021 than any other two-year period on record." (2)
Therapy Can Offer Parents Support As Well As Teens
After all, you’re trying to navigate a landscape that is much different than the world you remember as a teenager. Today’s realities require adults to intervene and relate to teens in different ways, which can be frustrating because it means we can’t pull from our own experiences to help.
And even though technology gives us ways to protect our children, the world seems so much more dangerous than it once was that it makes us feel even more powerless and afraid for our kids.
Our therapists at LaunchPad Counseling understand these concerns. That’s why we’re here to help you and your teen work together to ensure their healthy development and successful transition into adulthood.
LaunchPad Counseling Wants To Help Your Teen Learn To Thrive
The teenage years are filled with challenges and uncertainties that can be very stressful and confusing for a young person who is just figuring themselves out.
Therapy gives teens a safe and confidential space to express and process fears and frustrations, their needs and desires, and their hopes and values. It helps them sort through thoughts and feelings that they may not want—or have the capacity—to discuss with other adults.
Counseling gives your teen an ally they can trust—someone outside of their daily lives who can help them gain clarity on what really creates a sense of meaning and self-worth in their life. In the process, your teen can filter out the noise coming from society and other people and finally figure out what makes them thrive.
What Do We Do In Counseling For Teens?
Our therapists at LaunchPad Counseling focus on supporting teens in building trust and confidence in their own internal moral compass. Oftentimes, in counseling, we work with adolescent clients struggling with teenage depression, anxiety, and substance abuse issues to help them find better ways of regulating emotions and making better decisions.
Anxiety is a perfect example: in session, we might focus on how anxiety is inevitable, but we have a choice of letting it define us—or choosing to work with our feelings rather than repress them. That opens the door for exploring what really matters to the client and what they want out of life despite how they feel on the inside.
Then, we’d teach them how to work with their feelings (instead of against them) so that they’re able to process those emotions, make better decisions, and find healing and growth.
What Kind Of Tools Do We Use In Counseling For Teens?
Our counselors draw from a wide array of eclectic and engaging strategies to meet your teen wherever they are in their journey of healing and self-discovery:
Play therapy is adapted for teenagers to include creative and interactive ways to express themselves. The therapist utilizes specific games to engage and help teen clients open up about experiences that are more difficult to share.
Drama Therapy can help teenagers express their thoughts and feelings in a way that feels emotionally safe and empowering.
Music Therapy gives young people creative ways to explore how their past experiences affect them in the present. (No musical knowledge required.)
Mindful Awareness strategies enable teens to remain present in the moment and avoid becoming overwhelmed by their emotions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for teens focuses on examining how thoughts affect emotions and behaviors.
Family Therapy involves the parents in treatment and helps the family replace unproductive dynamics to create healthier interactions and improve relationships.
Even if your teenager seems reactive or hesitant toward speaking with adults, teens usually enjoy their experience with therapy. That’s because our counselors are trained to connect with your teen on their level by fostering a therapeutic relationship where they feel safe enough to open up and take full advantage of counseling sessions.
When this happens, it empowers teens to manage their emotions, make better decisions, and improve their relationships—not only with others but with themselves as well.
Perhaps You’re Considering Therapy For Teens But Still Have Concerns…
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In the initial session, your therapist will meet with you and your teen to talk about what brings you to counseling and what you hope to gain. Because trust and transparency are so crucial in therapy, we’ll also discuss the terms of confidentiality for teenagers engaging in psychotherapy with both of you.
We may also spend some time with your teen individually to give them a chance to familiarize themselves with their prospective therapist and decide if they feel comfortable working together. Then, we’ll let you know what the following sessions will look like.
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Our job is to treat the information your teen shares in therapy with the utmost care—that includes respecting their privacy. However, it’s important for clients under the age of 18 to know that with that trust comes the reality that parents ultimately have the right to see treatment records, including updates on progress, and session attendance history—unless doing so would not be in the child’s best interests.
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Even though parents can request access to certain records, we do not divulge individual session notes. After all, a huge part of what makes counseling so effective is your teen’s confidentiality and having a safe, almost sacred space to talk through what is on their mind. So, if you are a parent reading this, it’s crucial that you let your teenager know that you intend to respect their confidentiality and privacy in therapy despite your rights as a caregiver.
Let Us Help Your Teen Maximize Their Chances To Thrive
At LaunchPad Counseling, we’re dedicated to helping you and your teen transform these stressful times into the exciting, wonder-filled years they should be. So, please call (804) 665-4681, Email, or contact us to set up your online or in-person intake session and see how therapy for teens can open up opportunities for your loved one to thrive.
(1) 31.9% of adolescents (age 13-18) have an anxiety disorder (\Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27. PMID: 15939839).
(2) "Teen anxiety and depression grew more from 2019 to 2021 than any other two-year period on record." America's Teenage Girls are not Oka, by Derek Thompson (from The Atlantic, 2/16/2023)
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