Therapy For Teens
Are You Worried About Your Teen’s Emotional Wellbeing?
Is your teenager dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, or another mental health issue?
Have they been falling behind in school or struggling to fit in with their peers?
Could they benefit from the support of a therapist who specializes in teen-specific issues?
Maybe you’ve noticed concerning changes in your teenager’s mood and behaviour.
They may be isolating more, socializing less, and spending more and more time on their phone. Perhaps there are problems in school or their social life that are starting to negatively impact their emotional wellbeing. They might be struggling to make friends, getting bullied, or feeling like an outcast among their peers. As a result, their self-worth may have taken a hit.
For the first time, you may be asking yourself: Should my teenager be in therapy? Is this a passing phase or a sign of a deeper struggle?
The Pressures Of Social Media May Be Taking A Toll On Your Teen
Your teen is growing up in a strange new world that most of us never had to navigate. On top of peer pressure, hormonal challenges, and sky-high academic expectations, your teenager has to reckon with the ever-present stress of social media. All over their timelines, they probably see other teens with more friends, better selfies, and seemingly happier relationships than them.
Additionally, they might see their peers at events and parties that they weren’t invited to—making them wonder: Am I unpopular? Am I not good enough? Do people not accept me for who I am?
Your teenager deserves a space where they can feel seen, heard, understood, and unconditionally accepted for who they are. At Project Heal, our mission is to provide that space for them. We have a wealth of trained and experienced counsellors on staff who can help your teen navigate the ups and downs of adolescence and grow into the best version of themselves.
Teens In The Digital Age Face New And Unprecedented Challenges
Being a teen has always been tough—hormonal changes often lead to confusing mental, emotional, and physical changes. This is a time of life when kids are individuating from their families and childhood selves, so it’s common to experience some friction along the way.
That said, today’s teens have even more stressors to manage. In our tech-obsessed world, online bullying and the comparison culture of social media are rampant. The digital lifestyle has added an entirely new dimension of pressures to teen’s lives. Nowadays, when there’s a bullying incident or embarrassing situation at school, many teens worry that it will be posted on social media. They’re also concerned about how many followers, clicks, and likes they’re getting.
In the face of all these new and unprecedented challenges, it’s no wonder so many teens are turning to therapy.
It’s Hard To Be A Parent When Your Teen Is Struggling
As hard as it is for teens to navigate all the unprecedented stressors of our modern world, it’s equally tough for parents to know how to help them. After all, we didn’t have to worry about having our most vulnerable moments posted on social media or seeing all our friends at events we weren’t told about. Naturally, we don’t have resources in place to manage these issues. That’s why it’s so important for teens to get help from a compassionate professional who is trained to work with adolescents.
What’s more, most teens don’t feel comfortable being transparent with adults in their lives. They’re used to seeing parents, teachers, and coaches as authority figures. The good news is that our therapists specialize in meeting teens on their own terms and empowering them to be themselves unreservedly. Instead of being authority figures, we’re here to be your teen’s biggest supporters and encouragers.
Contact Us
Project Heal Offers Therapy For Teens With The Goal Of Fostering Community And Self-Awareness
Adolescents and teens usually don’t have many opportunities to vent, explore, and receive individualized mental health support, but Project Heal puts our clients at the center of the therapeutic process. Our therapists and coaches are trained in proven approaches that are designed to help teens regulate their emotions and get their needs met.
Our counselling services are available to teens of all backgrounds, including youth who identify as LGBTQ+. We will work with parents to determine their involvement in the treatment process, but in general, we let our teens lead the way in therapy.
What To Expect In Teen Counselling Sessions
Because so much of what teens are grappling with at this age is how to be in their bodies, we take a very body-focused, somatic approach to therapy. We want to help our clients better understand the relationship between their thoughts and emotions and how they are felt in the body, offering self-soothing and regulation skills to calm the nervous system. Once those skills are in place, we can do the deeper work of peeling back the layers of their experience to locate the concerns and self-beliefs at the core of their symptoms.
In this process, we are likely to offer mindfulness techniques—including breathwork and meditation—alongside journaling prompts to heighten self-awareness. We will also draw from some of the following approaches that have been shown to be effective in therapy for teens:
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Interpersonal Therapy for Adolescents (IPT)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Psychodynamic Therapy
A customized integration of these approaches can help teens identify their emotions, reframe their experiences, and overcome obstacles that prevent them from being their most confident selves.
At the end of the day, therapy for teens is all about building connections—connections to themselves, others, and the world around them. We believe your teen’s story is unique and worthy of both affirmation and celebration. Therapy for teens takes courage, but it can be a deeply transformative opportunity to embark on your path of self-discovery.
You May Still Have Some Concerns About Teen Therapy…
Most teens are understandably hesitant to open up to adults in their life. The good news it that our clinicians are nonjudgmental, empathetic professionals who treat all teens with unconditional positive regard. Once teens recognize this for themselves, they usually have a much easier time opening up about their struggles.
In order for your teen to be honest and transparent about their challenges, it’s essential for them to have privacy. That’s why the therapeutic process is entirely confidential. Unless there are safety concerns involved, sessions with us will always be between the teen and their therapist.
We understand that counselling can be an expense, but the skills your teen gains in the short time they’re in therapy can benefit them for the rest of their lives. If you are curious about how to offset the cost of therapy, contact us and we can explore creative options for making treatment more affordable.
Your Teen Deserves A Space Where They Can Feel Seen, Heard, And Appreciated
At Project Heal, our goal is to give your teen a chance to be their authentic self and equip them with the skills and resources to manage their mental health challenges with ease. To learn more about our approach to teen counselling, contact us to schedule a session. We look forward to hearing from you!
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