Teen Counseling

Teen counseling is a great tool for helping a teenager work through whatever is troubling him or her, be it the challenge of trying to navigate through a normal life stage, or of adjusting to a major family trauma such as the death of a loved one, or a divorce or separation. It is similar to adult counseling, except that the approach is specifically geared to teenagers. It is typically conducted by a trained, teen-focused mental health professional.

Counseling sessions take place in a safe space where the teenager can openly discuss his or her feelings and concerns without fear of consequences or disclosure. The focus is on helping him or her gain insight into why he or she thinks and feels the way he or she does, and equipping him or her with the necessary coping skills to be able to identify and manage the stressors in his or her life and navigate through the challenges in an emotionally balanced way.

Teen counseling can also be used to help a teenager overcome the effects of past traumatic events and prevent minor issues from turning into problems down the road.

• A teen’s mental health greatly influences his or her ability to manage life’s ups and downs. Teen counseling can help him or her adjust to the physical and emotional challenges that occur during the transition from childhood to adulthood. These challenges can make him or her prone to emotional extremes and underdeveloped impulse control.
• Your teen may find it hard to talk to you about his or her problems, and be more likely to open up to a counselor than to you.
• Teen counseling can help your teen gain a better understanding of who he or she is, become more confident in his or her abilities, and improve his or her confidence and self-esteem.
• Teen counseling can enable your teen to learn vital skills such as emotion regulation and effective communication.
• Teen counseling can help your teen learn how to cope with external stressors such as a heavy academic workload, decisions regarding his or her future career path, home-life disruptions, identity issues, peer pressure, and/or bullying.

• Changes in behavior 

• • It seems like everything is a fight with your teen.
  • He or she is acting out and getting into trouble more often than before.
  • He or she is exhibiting aggressive or abusive behavior.
  • He or she is isolating and withdrawing from friends and family.
  • He or she has lost interest in hobbies and activities he or she once enjoyed.
  • He or she seems restless, lost, and confused.
  • He or she is having trouble focusing and making decisions.
  • He or she has no energy and feels tired all the time.

• Psychological changes 

• • He or she seems sad all the time.
  • He or she is more sensitive than usual and is having trouble controlling his or her emotions.
  • He or she is experiencing frequent mood swings.
  • He or she is having frequent panic attacks.
  • He or she is struggling with depression, hopelessness, and/or anxiety.

• Changes in school performance 

• • He or she has been cutting classes and not completing assignments on time.
  • His or her grades have dropped significantly.
  • He or she is being disrespectful to teachers and exhibiting aggressive behavior such as bullying. 

• Change in sleep patterns 

• • He or she is experiencing disruptions in his or her normal sleep patterns such as insomnia or nightmares.
  • He or she is always sleeping.
  • He or she has trouble getting up in the morning and is always tired, no matter how much sleep he or she gets. 

• Changes in eating patterns 

• • He or she seems to have lost his or her appetite and is losing weight.
  • He or she is binge eating and is gaining weight.
  • He or she has developed an eating disorder. 

• Engaging in self-harm 

• • He or she is engaging in self-harming behavior such as cutting.
  • He or she is talking about death and/or having suicidal thoughts. 

• Substance use or abuse 

• • He or she is using/abusing drugs or alcohol as a means of escape from reality.

There are many different types of therapy that can be used in teen counseling, depending on the issues with which your teen is struggling and the precipitating problem. Sometimes a counselor will use a combination of therapies. Following are some of the most common ones.

• Talk therapy. Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, is a way for your teen to work through challenging feelings and emotions by talking about them to a teen-focused mental health professional. The counselor then helps him or her gain clarity and learns healthy ways of coping with life’s stressors. 

• Music therapy. Counselors who use this technique do so to gain a more in-depth insight into the issues affecting the teen. The teen is encouraged to choose songs he or she feels relate to what’s happening in his or her own life, and then pick out the lyrics he or she feels are most significant. 

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of talk therapy that focuses on changing negative thinking patterns. The premise is that thoughts influence emotions, which then influence behavior. To change the behavior, you need to change the thoughts. Through CBT counseling, the teen learns how to identify faulty or incorrect thought patterns and replace them with healthier, more positive ones.

• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). ACT is based on a combination of mindfulness and acceptance. The counselor helps the teen learn how to live in the present moment and develop a positive attitude towards his or her thoughts and feelings instead of avoiding them or trying to push them away.

• Group therapy. Group counseling enables participants to share their issues and the ways they cope with them with one another. It can help improve your teen’s social skills, as well as make him or her aware that other teens are facing similar issues.

• Family therapy. Family therapy provides an opportunity for family members to come together and openly communicate their feelings with one another. The goal is to improve communication and support among them and teach them how to resolve family issues in a healthy way.

• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). DBT is a combination of CBT and mindfulness and is used to teach a teen emotion regulation and distress tolerance. The counselor shows the teen how to process his or her emotions and equips him or her with coping skills to work through challenges and conflicts in a healthy way.

Getting a teen to attend counseling can be challenging. Teenagers don’t typically like having decisions made for them. Additionally, they may feel intimidated by the thought of sharing personal information with a stranger or worry about the stigma of getting help for mental health issues. Try to encourage voluntary attendance as opposed to forcing the issue when possible, using the following tips.

• Explain what teen counseling is to your teenager, how it is specifically designed for teens, and how it can be helpful to him or her.
• Reassure your teen that therapy is confidential and that no one will even know he or she is in counseling.
• Assure your teen that he or she doesn’t have to share anything about which he or she is not ready to talk.
• Include your teen in the process of choosing a therapist. Schedule a get-to-know-you session to give him or her an opportunity to build an initial connection and ensure he or she is comfortable with the counselor. Experience and credentials are important, but it’s the rapport that develops between counselor and teen that is the most important factor in a successful outcome.
• Respect your teen’s privacy and don’t ask him or her questions about his or her therapy sessions.

Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment. A Christian counselor is ready to help your teen overcome his or her problems with compassionate care.