Are you worried about your Teenager or Young Adult?
A couple looking confused with their distressed son.
Has the person you have always known your teenager to be changed?
Is your teen isolating themselves?
Perhaps he or she has stopped communicating with you?
Have you noticed secretive behaviors increasing?
Does your teen appear apathetic toward activities they previously enjoyed?
Have you noticed a change in attire, hygiene or sleeping patterns?
Self-harming behaviors such as, using drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, cutting and excessive scratching are all signs that your teen needs help.
Perhaps, your intuition is telling you that something has changed but you can’t put your finger on it?
You tried to make positive change only to have it blow up or backfire on you?
You are not alone. Discovery and Wellness Counseling can help.
Being a teen is extraordinary difficult in this day & age.
A woman sitting on the couch throwing her hands up while her daughter sits on the other end looking at her smartphone.
Teenagers, 13-19, are going through some of the most drastic developmental changes they will make in their lifetime. They become aware of physical changes with their bodies making them feel self–conscious and awkward. Their emotional and social development is on overload. This may be the first time they become aware and experience romantic feelings. Their awareness of how they are perceived by their peers becomes increasingly acute. All of these changes can be very confusing and overwhelming for your teen and young adult. They can feel frustrated, embarrassed and misunderstood when trying to communicate how these changes are impacting them. While teens and young adults are maturing, they often lack the emotional capabilities to express themselves.
It is not uncommon for teens and young adults when feeling misunderstood and alone, to manage their feeling by acing out in unhealthy ways. They may turn to isolating, drug use, sexual acting out, and/or self-harming behaviors. They may experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, as well as become more irritable and angry. The ability to feel safe to articulate feelings is an invaluable skill that teens and families often have a difficult time developing on their own. Fortunately, teen counseling can help provide a safe environment for your adolescent or young adult to learn how to express and understand their feelings in ways that promote interpersonal growth and family connection. Discovery & Wellness Counseling provides guidance and support through individual and family therapy, allowing your teenage and young adult to grow their emotional awareness and develop successful tools for themselves in a safe, nurturing, non-judgmental environment. Teen counseling can provide him or her with irreplaceable building blocks for the future.
Family counseling: getting to the root of the problem and developing building blocks for the future.
A tree growing out of a missing puzzle piece in a puzzle.
When teenagers don’t understand how to articulate what they are feeling or experiencing, it can lead to larger issues. At Discovery and Wellness Counseling, identifying the root issues of what the teen is experiencing is key. Building an understanding of the underlying issues is the foundation of increasing your teenagers or young adult’s ability to better manage their stressors. Through individual and family counseling sessions, we work to increase your teen’s emotional vocabulary and awareness of how they physical experience their feelings. This is an important part of laying a solid foundation to a more emotionally connected relationship with your adolescent or young adult.
Increasing your teenager’s sense of being understood is powerful. Their ability to share openly is an important part of counseling. Facilitating a safe and comfortable environment is integral in your teen’s counseling experience. We achieve this by utilizing several creative techniques such as, drawing, collaging, and clay manipulation. At Discovery and Wellness Counseling, it is our intention to create a warm and safe atmosphere to help eliminate feelings of trepidation, worry, and fear - all emotions your teen or young adult may struggle with when contemplating individual or family counseling. Through individual and family therapy, Discovery and Wellness Counseling will help your teen develop an increased awareness of triggers, develop healthy coping strategies and increase their communication and connection with their family.
Integrating parents into your teen's counseling session is one of the steps used to support and create sustainable change. Discovery and Wellness Counseling will utilize both individual and family counseling to achieve the goal of developing renewed relationships within your family. Integrating your teen or young adult’s new emotional awareness and communication strategies into your family will help diminish unhealthy coping strategies and increase emotional connection between you and your teen.
HAS YOUR TEENAGER SAID TO YOU, "YOU ARE MY PROBLEM!"
Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs. Often as a parent we have an intuition that something is wrong, but according to your teen or young adult, you are the problem. Listening to your parental instincts is key in being a proactive parent. You may have to insist your teen attend counseling. However, you can help them feel empowered by allowing them to be part of the decision making process. Allowing them to choose which therapist they feel comfortable with is often helpful. If your adolescent is still unwilling to come to counseling, Discovery & Wellness Counseling can still work with you to find ways to make positive changes for your teen. No one knows your teenager the way you do, and through family counseling we can incorporate behavioral strategies to support the changes you desire. Working with you as a parent provides us with valuable insight, helping to remedy the maladaptive coping skills that are hindering your teen’s success at life.
Reaching out to another adult for help with my teen makes me feel as though I have failed as a parent.
The fact that you are researching family and teen counseling options is an indication that you love your child and care about his or her wellbeing. No parent is perfect. We all struggle with feelings of failure from time to time. Seeking counseling for your adolescent or young adult means you care enough about them to give them the gift of emotional growth. Discovery & Wellness Counseling provides a safe outlet for your teen or young adult to share their struggles and, in turn, open up more room for a positive relationship between you and your teen.
At Discovery & Wellness Counseling, we value your perspective as a parent - no one knows your adolescent the way you do. For this reason, we encourage parents to attend the initial teen counseling session. Our approach emphasizes integrating you throughout the therapeutic process. We at Discovery & Wellness Counseling strongly believe that including the primary caregivers in the therapy process at strategic times increases family trust and emotional connection.
