Changes in mood, behavior, relationships, sleep, school performance, or motivation can sometimes indicate that a teenager is struggling. Therapy may be helpful when your teen seems increasingly anxious, sad, angry, withdrawn, overwhelmed, or is having difficulty coping with everyday stressors. You do not necessarily need to wait until a problem becomes severe before seeking help; in fact, it can be helpful to be proactive, when possible.

Sometimes parents feel cautious about bringing their adolescent to therapy, for any number of reasons. I assure you that therapy with me takes place in a blame free environment, as I work with each family to capitalize on their strengths. We will determine how much or how little you will be involved in the therapeutic process, as that is generally based on the needs and desires of the family, the age of the teenager, and the concerns the teen is starting counseling for. In order to help your teenager, it is very important that they feel they can trust me and that things we talk about in sessions are kept private. You and I will work together to find a good balance so that privacy is maintained for your teenager but also that you feel included as the adult and integral piece in the process. I think it can be very beneficial for teenagers to see their parent being willing to hear what the therapist has to say and be willing to make some accommodations, as it presents more of a team approach.

This is a very common concern for parents. Teenagers may be hesitant because they do not know what to expect, worry that there is something ‘wrong’ with them, or simply do not know if therapy will help. My role as therapist is to build rapport create a therapeutic relationship in which your teen can gradually feel comfortable or willing to open up. I’ve successfully built a private practice seeing teens (and adults) since 2008 and so I can confidently say that most teens are receptive to me.

As a general rule, I will not tell your parent/guardian specific things you tell me in our private therapy sessions. There are some exceptions, however, mostly related to if you may be a harm to yourself or to someone else. We can talk about some more specific and hypothetical situations together in our first few sessions so that you get a better understanding of what I mean.

Sometimes a parent or guardian will contact me, and I will listen to what their concerns are regarding you and your therapy. I will not give details about what we talk about in our sessions. However, it can be important for parent(s)/guardian(s) to hear about how things are going in your life. In these cases, you and I will talk together about how to best communicate some of those feelings and logistics. Sometimes it helps if we meet together with your parent(s)/ guardian(s) for a ‘check-in’ on how things are going; other times it helps if I talk to your parent/guardian, in general terms, about what a better approach may be in relating to you on certain issues and concerns.

There are a lot of reasons why a teenager might go to therapy or why a parent might be concerned about their teenager. Some reasons teenagers come to see me include:

• •Transitions – adjusting to parents’ divorce or remarriage, graduating from jr. high to high school, high school to college, ending college, and the like.
• Depression – not finding interest in things you used to.
• Overwhelmed – with school pressure or expectations from parents.
• Parents concerned about who you hang out with and what you might be doing when you’re with those friends.
• Self-harm (cutting) or thoughts of suicide.