Teen Therapy

When should parents consider teen therapy?

Parents usually reach out for help for their teen when they see that they aren’t their usual self, such as when their grades drop, they lose interest in things that once brought them joy, or they are isolating more and not showing interest in friendships

Your teen could be more emotional, feeling different than their peers, and feeling not good enough.

Teens often reach out for help online to find someone who understands them or to find someone they believe can help them. Sometimes, they are not aware that therapy is an option, and others may ask their parents for therapy directly. If they are seeking help and asking for therapy, it’s super important to listen and provide the support they need.

Personal experience influences my approach.

At age nine, my favorite grandmother committed suicide, and my parents and I found her. It was so traumatic for all involved that my parents didn’t even remember that I was there. But I remember. In fact, it was the single most important reason I am a therapist today.

I was so devastated, traumatized, and grief-stricken. I would cry unnoticed, recall every detail of how we broke into her home and found her, how my dad shook me and told me never to tell anyone. I never received therapy as a child, but it was definitely a topic of therapy in my teens.

Throughout my childhood and teen years, I experienced her suicide differently at each developmental stage. It wasn’t long before I wanted to understand why she committed suicide and learn how to prevent it in others.

At age 14, my interest in psychology began. My experiences have taught me that children understand more than you give them credit for. Suffering alone and feeling misunderstood by adults who didn’t know what to do or talk about it didn’t help me. This is why therapy with children and teens has become a passion of mine: to help families just like mine learn to talk about and cope with difficult things.

My focus is on your child and the family.

I have over 20 years of post-master’s clinical experience working primarily with children, adolescents, and their families. I enjoy working with teens individually, but know that when working with children, I’m treating the entire family because that is where lasting change happens, working with families. Every person in a family affects every other person in the family, for good and for bad, and is part of both the problem and the solution.

I use a family systems perspective and emotionally focused therapy to meet families where they are and provide the support and education needed to make positive change individually and as a family. I also use Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care, and Psychoeducation to help teens and their families develop the skills they need to make the change they want and need.

Families are never forced to participate. I encourage participation only if the participants are willing to create change. I start with the person with the identified problem, then pull in others as the child or adolescent is ready to talk to their parent, sibling, or the entire family, together or separately.

I offer non-threatening, non-judgmental, unconditional, positive regard, strengths-based, and solution-focused therapy to create a positive experience at a comfortable pace for the participant.