Teen Counseling – Counselors, Coaches and Therapists in Westminster

“She’s a good kid, but sometimes I don’t know how to respond to her. We didn’t have access to all this technology when I was a kid, and it’s obviously impacting our youth. When she asks questions, especially questions about relationships, I just think, ‘You’re 12 years old! I wasn’t supposed to have to answer these kinds of things for another four or five years.’ But the worst part is when she won’t talk to me at all. I want to help her find herself and feel balanced, but I don’t really know how when she won’t even speak to me.”

Struggling with your teenager is such a normal part of life, it is seen in almost every television show or movie that includes a person of that age. As parents, we expect that we will have some difficulty with our teenagers. But at times, the level of discord and pain exceeds what we can handle alone. Perhaps your home is filled with screaming matches, slammed doors, and nights spent waiting up for your wayward teen. Alternatively, maybe your teenager is not yelling, but they’re not talking either. They are withdrawn, spend a great deal of time alone, and seem completely unhappy. You cannot seem to find that sweet child you know is somewhere inside. Thriveworks Westminster counseling can help.

Which Teens Would Benefit from Counseling?

Perhaps your teen is going through something serious, such as struggling with an eating disorder, coping with a recent trauma, or dealing with problems with friends or classmates. You have tried to find relief at home, but nothing seems to work. You are at your wit’s end, and worried about your child.

Maybe you just want to see your teenager get some direction in life and be able to process the many changes they are experiencing. You want them to have a trusted confidant on the journey toward adulthood. Thriveworks Westminster counselors can provide that for your teen.

Thriveworks Westminster can be your trusted partner in your child’s recovery. We have trained professionals that have expertise in many different areas. We can connect you with the counselor that will be best for your teenager.

What is Teen Counseling Like?

Teen counseling is much the same as counseling for adults, with respect to the unique situations teenagers are exposed to. During the first session, a Thriveworks Westminster counselor will focus on getting to know your teen. What are their interests? What are their passions? What do they want to do in the next few years? What is school like? What are their friends like? What struggles are they currently experiencing? We will work during the first and subsequent sessions to earn your teen’s trust so they feel comfortable discussing their lives with us. For your teen, part of the benefit of seeing a counselor is knowing that whatever they discuss is confidential. That’s very important to teenagers, who are often experiencing self-esteem issues or feelings of awkwardness that they want kept private. Thriveworks Westminster counseling respect teenagers and wants to help them maintain their mental and emotional health.

Once we begin therapy and determine what areas your teenager needs help with, we work together to develop strategies for coping with any problems your teen is going through. Sometimes that’s conflict or time management, while other times the teenager may need help processing a trauma or learning to deal with stress triggers.

Teens Need Counseling Just as Much as Adults

Long term stress certainly impacts adults in an unhealthy way. Anxiety, eating disorders, sleeplessness, and more can happen at any age, but the teenage brain is even more prone to long term ramifications of stress. The brain is not fully developed until about age 25, and whatever experiences occur before then can impact the rest of a person’s life. Chronic stress or anxiety in teenagers “…can result in metabolic disorders and impaired immune and cognitive function,” which is why it’s important that teens receive the help they need as soon as possible (Romeo). With therapy, they can decrease or eliminate the stress that, if left alone, could cause lifelong struggles.

Teenagers today are exposed to much of the same things that cause problems in adults. Technology in particular is present in much higher amounts than it was even ten years ago. Teenagers are constantly on social media or the internet, and while bullying was once left to person-to-person contact or the occasional rumor being passed around school, now it’s even happening on the internet, where it can spread as quickly as wildfire.

Relationships, be they romantic or friendly, can cause many of the same reactions in teens as in adults when they become problematic—in fact, they can even cause more stress, because teens don’t yet have the experience to put them in perspective. And, once more, their brains and hormonal responses are not fully developed, putting them in more danger of a negative reaction to stress.

That stress can lead to decreased appetite and even eating disorders. Serious in people of all ages, teenagers are particularly prone to the dangers of eating disorders due to their high consumption of media, which visually indicates to them that there is a “perfect” body type.

It’s hard being a teenager. Really hard. At Thriveworks Westminster, counselors are standing by to talk with your teenager and get them the help they need, be it developing coping mechanisms for stress, processing a trauma, rebuilding positive family relationships, or anything else they may be struggling with.

Thriveworks Westminster Teen Counseling

Call us today to get started.. It would be our honor to walk with your teenager on this journey to adulthood.

Further Reading
Russell D. Romeo. “The Teenage Brain: The Stress Response and the Adolescent Brain.” December 2014. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov