Teen Counseling
With teens, stress comes from all sides.
Sunday night again, and the anxiety, depression, and tension are overwhelming. Why is Sunday night so difficult? Because tomorrow is Monday, and you must go back to school again. You spent the whole weekend trying to photoshop your picture. Your hair is too curly, lips too thin, skin too pale, and you are too curvy. When you post your picture, the competition begins, counting the likes. You wonder if you will get enough. If you do, you will feel good about yourself; if you don’t, it confirms your worth.
He finally asked you out! Then he asked you to do things you did not want to do with him. Your friends all have done these things and tell you, “You should. It’s not that big of a deal.” They call you a baby. You wonder, “Do I have to do this to finally have a boyfriend?” You want to fit in. You want a boyfriend. You want to be popular. Is it worth it?
This is supposed to be fun, right? Your mom said high school was supposed to be fun; you can’t even remember the last time you enjoyed something. Your mom wonders why you don’t hang out more with your friends. She just doesn’t get it. Everything is a competition, from academics to AP classes to ACT scores to your grade on your biology exam. Even extras that are supposed to be fun, sports, the musical, debate, and even homecoming, bring more competition.
Being left out makes things worse.
Last Friday, you did not get invited to the party. Your friends did, and they went without you. As a result, you spent TGIF crying in your bathroom, feeling left out.
Being left out makes you wonder, “Am I pretty enough, am I handsome enough, am I thin enough, am I curvy enough, am I fast enough, am I smart enough, am I enough?”
You are always sad, hate high school, and wonder if life will always feel like this.
Mom and Dad…
I know you hear her muffled cries and see her puffy eyes the next morning.
Her smile has been gone for weeks, maybe even months.
You start to worry. What can help?
Adolescent therapy does help.
Adolescent therapy works for all the pressures our teens feel today, including performance pressure, pressure from parents, peer pressure, and pressure from self. Giving your teen a safe, nonjudgmental, confidential space to explore those pressures is crucial in discovering the truth about self and building self-confidence.
When your teenager enters our office, they will receive respect and feel heard; they will find their voice. We will explore relationships, identifying support from healthy relationships and hurtful, unhealthy relationships and thought patterns.
Your teen will learn to place boundaries in relationships as a form of self-care. Through our work together, your teen will discover self-acceptance and strategies to navigate their anxiety while preparing for their future.
Your teenager will learn to identify and communicate complex emotions and thoughts instead of holding them inside and self-destructing.
Parents – help relieve the pressure.
As parents, we not only want but need our children to be ok. If your teen is not ok, there is help. As they mature and grow, many things are out of their control.
Isn’t it time to give them a space where they can feel safe, respected, like their voice matters, and provide them some control? What if therapy can make all the difference for your teen?
The pressures will not get any easier, but if your son or daughter can receive the right tools to help them understand their feelings, those pressures will have less impact. Giving them a gift of support with a highly trained and experienced counselor will help them accept and see their worth.
Your teen has their whole life ahead of them.
Their choices, behaviors, and self-talk matter today.
Your child deserves to see their self the way you do.
Contact us today.