Youth, Teens, and Young Adults

Counseling Sessions for Children

We reminisce about childhood as a period of carefree days with no responsibilities. But the truth is, children are very perceptive. They’re often far more attuned to the desires, preferences, beliefs, and emotions of others, including adults.

This means your child can be swept up in their own emotions and thoughts while also being concerned about or affected by what’s happening around them. For example, turmoil in school or at home can distract them more than you may have previously thought.

Ultimately, your family’s goals will be met as we work with your child to gain a sense of self-awareness, self-knowledge, and self-acceptance. Learning and adopting these skills will help them build a strong emotional foundation that supports them through life’s trying times.

Our practitioners are adept at identifying and helping common behavioral problems, such as:

• Diagnosing ADHD, anxiety, depression, screen addiction, autism spectrum disorders, neurodivergence, gender identity, and other difficulties that affect learning and socialization
• Outbursts of anger and tantrums
• Diagnosing and treating behavioral disorders (i.e., Hyperactivity, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Conduct Disorder)
• Helping parents with different styles of co-parenting and supporting one another
• Teaching social skills and executive functioning skills
• Intervening to address high-functioning autism spectrum symptoms

We believe that children’s therapy is a hands-on process that should include the family and those close to the child. When needed, we may ask permission to work closely with parents, siblings, teachers, school psychologists, doctors, and others who may play a role in the child’s life. Understanding the child’s home, school, and social environments is often critical in providing the effective therapy being sought.

For child behavior solutions, contact our office today.

Therapy for Teens

There are a few stages in life that are more like rollercoasters than the teen years. Increasing pressure from homework, extracurricular activities, friends, family, and even social media can turn any moment on its end. On top of everything, teens are in a period where they’re developing a newfound independence and sense of self. Because adolescents are more independent and mobile than they were as children, they’re often out of the direct physical control of adults. This leaves teens to rely more on their own moral and behavioral compasses.

Because of the influence peer pressure plays in a teen’s life, they could fall prey to instances of drug or alcohol use, vaping, screen addiction, internet scams, catfishing, social media influence, or not abiding by their inner voice telling them what they believe to be right or wrong. They could face lapses in judgment in especially stressful times. That’s why knowing how to come back from any setback is one of the goals of teen therapy.

Common factors that contribute to adolescent problems include:

• Developmental issues and learning disabilities
• Substance use
• Depression
• Anxiety
• ADD and ADHD
• Trauma
• Divorce, Separation, Pet loss, Grief
• Adoption and Identity Issues
• Intergenerational Trauma
• Gender Identity Issues
• Other mental health disorders

If your teen is “acting out” or just not like themselves, don’t lose hope.

We believe adolescents can learn to identify problems they’re facing and be aided in developing strategies for addressing them. It’s crucial for your teen to understand that they’re not the problem. We work with families and teens to develop solutions and good habits. By learning skills to cope with the pressures of being a teen today, they’ll be able to act accordingly in the face of peer pressure, academic struggles, and more.

We replace “tough love” with simply “love,” which is the first step to self-acceptance, self-awareness and growing into a successful adulthood.

Learning to Navigate Young Adulthood

Young adulthood is when older teens and those in their early 20s begin to flee the nest and explore the frontier of their own lives. It’s an exciting and stressful part of life, and psychotherapy may be exactly what young adults need to help them explore their identity, including their values, interests, and large-scale questions about who they are in the world.

Some may feel trapped in an “in-between” stage before they find their footing, so feelings of instability and anxiety are common. While young adults going to college or starting a career may be pushing for independence, they still count on parents and family for emotional or financial support. College adults tend to be self-focused at this time of their lives, so they may need help seeing the bigger picture.

Problems stemming from young adulthood commonly include:

• Substance abuse
• Eating disorders
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Relationships and Dating
• Educational struggles
• Social Struggles
• Job Stress
• Executive Functioning
• Independence

When faced with prolonged stressors and challenges, Family Psychiatry and Therapy understands how deeply a young mind can go into distress and spiral into a dark place. By learning to treat themselves with compassion and respect, young adults gain the skills with therapy and psychiatric treatment to navigate even the most stressful times in college or during the early stages of their careers.