Teens & Tweens

Being a teen is a complex time of growth, experimentation, and decision making.  Teens are more challenged today than  ever before, especially in the Bay Area.  The complication of social media in their social development, comparing themselves with an exceptional pool of peers, and pressure to succeed can challenge even the most resilient teen.  Yet it’s a critical time of developing a greater sense of self, personal values, habits and behaviors, and building new relationships with others.  It is understandable that tweens and teens may feel anxious, disappointed, overwhelmed and confused, to some degree, about how to manage these growing academic, emotional and social demands.  Similarly, parents frequently struggle with how to help their kids develop and maintain positive self-worth while setting appropriate, consistent and fair expectations.

I have over 15 years of experience working with teens and young adults, helping them and their families successfully manage the challenges and opportunities of adolescence and young adulthood, and meet the issues that lie ahead.

 

Therapeutic Approach:

Talk Therapy:  Teens benefit from a safe place to process their life and discuss their challenges and triumphs.  It also allows them a means to observe their choices and experiences in order to take stock in how to best proceed forward, developing a stronger core identity, and taking advantage of the growth benefits that adolescence offers.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): Skills are built and practiced in order to become more resilient to the ups and downs of adolescence and life as a whole.  Skills building includes relaxation skills, healthy life habits, managing negative thoughts, and self-management skills.

Mindfulness: Becoming aware of one’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors with a non-judgmental attitude helps to bring a greater sense of calm and self-efficacy.  When teens can learn to ride the waves of the more intense feelings of adolescence, they learn skills to benefit their lifetime.

Family Therapy:  Joint sessions can help improve healthy communication, confidence, and relationships as a whole, and decrease arguments and negative feelings toward one another.

If your teen or tween struggles with any of the following issues, I can help:

  • Mild to severe anxiety that significantly impacts their ability to reach their potential in academic, extra-curricular, and social domains
  • Anxiety surrounding a need to perform rituals, cleaning routines, or other urges
  • Depressive symptoms lasting more than two weeks, such as irritability, persistent moodiness, distractibility, changes in sleep and appetite and loss of interests
  • Thoughts of suicide
  • Cutting and Self-harming behaviors
  • Difficulty regulating their mood so that they experience frequent angry and emotional
    reactions that don’t seem to “fit” with the circumstances of the moment
  • Addiction & Substance Abuse
  • Stress that is either mild or severe, with possible displays of “shutting down” or outward expressions of frustration or feelings of overwhelm
  • Substance abuse or other risk taking or impulsive behaviors
  • Struggles to cultivate and maintain healthy peer relationships
  • Communication and relationship issues at home
  • Perfectionism and obsessive thinking that impacts self-esteem