The Process of Therapy

The process of therapy starts with an evaluation of your teenager and you.  I meet together with your teenager and with you to take information.

I then meet with your teen alone and explain confidentiality and access their motivation and what they need for their treatment.

Therapy usually begins with weekly sessions with your teenager and occasional meetings or phone calls with parents.

Therapy is a process that sometimes you don’t see real change and but then there are times you begin to see gradual growth and change.  Like most processes it takes commitment and time.

Get Help for Your Teen

It’s easy to feel worried or scared when your teen is showing signs of pain or confusion.

“Is this serious? Or is this just a stage?”

Does any of the following sound familiar?

• Your teen is often angry
• Your teen withdraws from you more and more
• You see signs of stress or depression
• You suspect there may be drug or alcohol issues
• Your teen might be struggling academically
• You notice your teen feels really down about themselves

Not knowing what to do can create stress in your family.

Parents need guidance and support to guide them through these challenges. They need someone who has the experience and skills to deal with your teen.

Teenagers need their own support, guidance, and clarification to help them get through these difficult times in their lives.

So let me encourage you: Get Help.

When you’re experiencing challenges in your relationship with your teenage child, it’s easy to feel vulnerable and confused about where to turn to for help.

Parents often wait a long time before they reach out for help – sometimes, too long.

I understand how you might feel unsure about reaching out to someone for support. In reality – none of this is easy!

Giving Teens a Better Roadmap

I see a range of teenagers with a lot of different issues.

A typical situation comes to mind when I saw a high school student who was brought to see me after being hospitalized for depression and suicidal feelings.

This young man did not fully understand his own emotions and rarely spoke about them.

After working with him, he became able to discuss his emotions. He began to see that discussing emotions was a road map to understanding how to deal with his feelings.

He was finally able to begin to discuss how he felt mistreated in high school. He began to get through the shame of sharing this information and accessed his real feelings and anger.

His journey of healing had begun, and over the next few months he acquired the skills that allowed him to process his feelings and be able to discuss them. He began to see that by understanding his feelings, he could talk about them and get ideas for how to deal with future conflicts in his life.

I’m happy to report that he returned to school the following year to have a very successful senior year of high school.