ADOLESCENT THERAPY
One Foot in Childhood, One Foot in Adulthood
Parents considering adolescent therapy should remember that while teens are still technically “children,” they’re in the transition period towards adulthood. Your teen will act impulsive and impatient as a 3-year-old one moment. The next moment they’ll spout out some amazing insights about world affairs. Tremendous (incredible, unbelievable, off-the-charts) brain development is happening within teens. It’s difficult, sometimes impossible, for adolescents to sustain the maturity that you so desperately want your kid to grasp.
We Speak “Teen,”We Speak “Parent”
In adolescent therapy at Child & Teen Counseling we specifically train our therapists in this “growing up” process. We treat your teenager from a place of respect and understanding. That means that we equip your teenager’s therapist to develop a healthy therapeutic friendship with your kid. We “force” nothing in our sessions. And we have a special knack for knowing just how to reach your kid – no matter how “far gone” or unreachable you think he/she is. The best news is that we don’t keep these tools a secret from you – we help you to learn how to reach your “unreachable” kid.
Rapport Building and Connection
One of the things we do best at CTC is knowing how to keep teens interested and engaged. It may be hard to believe, but we are incredibly successful at having fun! From the fun, comes a smile, then trust and meaningful conversation. After a while (without him/her even knowing it) we are on the road to having a successful therapeutic journey. This journey ends when your teen has learned how to help him/herself maintain an emotionally and mentally healthy life.
To create this trust, it is important for everyone to understand that what your teenager says in his/her private therapy sessions remains confidential. However, if there is an important topic that comes up, your counselor will work with your kid to be able to address it with you directly from a place of respect and collaboration. Empowering your teen to find his/her own voice helps to grow the confidence and maturity that you are hoping for in your kid.
Need some more help understanding your teen? Check out the archive of helpful video blogs on the side of our sister organization Teen Therapy Center.