Teen Therapy: How It Can Help Your Child Thrive
Supporting Teens in a Challenging World
Being a teen in today’s world can feel extremely overwhelming. Think about all the growing emotional pressures teens face—social media, academics, relationships, identity. There is so much pressure for teens to excel and be perfect.
Many parents feel unsure how to help when their teen is struggling. Not only can it be hard to acknowledge your teen is not OK, but it’s even more difficult to figure out how to get your teen the help they need. Mental health for teens is crucial to their growth, success, and well-being.
This blog will focus on how teen therapy supports emotional health, builds resilience, and empowers teens to thrive. We’ll review how therapy helps teens with mental health issues, signs your teen may benefit from counseling, what you and your teen can expect, and how you can continue to support your child’s mental health.
Why Teens Are Struggling More Than Ever
Today’s teens are struggling more than the previous generations of teenagers. There’s more stress and pressure on the current generation of teenagers.
Current Trends in Teen Mental Health
Teenagers nowadays are suffering increased rates of anxiety, depression, and stress. They’re faced with increased social pressures, academic performance, and identity exploration. Teens are in the most transformative time in their life, figuring out who they are, while navigating social pressures, including social media, and all the responsibilities of being a student. This all impacts the mental well-being of teens—and it can be a lot to handle.
Common Signs Your Teen Might Be Struggling
When these pressures start to impact the well-being of your teen, you may notice some common symptoms that your teen may be struggling. Some signs include withdrawal from family or friends, increased irritability, sleep changes, a loss of interest in hobbies or recreational activities, or academic drop—meaning, a decrease in performance at school.
Why Early Support Matters
Parents may feel like teen therapy is only beneficial during moments of crisis. However, early intervention and support often prevents struggles from becoming crises. Catching challenges early leads to better outcomes and can equip your teen with skills to prevent any further mental health decline. In fact, some teens may even benefit from therapy even if they feel like they’re OK. Therapy is a tool to empower teens.
What Teen Therapy Looks Like
It can feel overwhelming for your teen to meet with a therapist, especially if they’ve been experiencing a decline in their mental health and are withdrawn. Teen therapy and adolescent counseling provide room for teens to talk about their emotions, navigate complex feelings and changes, and learn how to be resilient.
What Happens in a Session
Teen therapy provides your teen with a safe, confidential space to express feelings, concerns, and emotions. It involves a mix of conversation, creative expression, and coping skills, all of which are intended to help your teen focus on their emotional health and feel empowered. Your teen should feel comfortable to share how they’re feeling and to discuss any issues they’re facing, including mental health struggles, academic or social pressures, and identity concerns.
Types of Therapy Used with Teens
Teen therapy is tailored to meet the needs of your teen. The therapist has a variety of approaches or modalities to use during sessions to help your teen navigate their feelings. Some potential approaches include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety/depression, which focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors that can contribute to how your teen is feeling
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for emotion regulation, which emphasizes regulating emotions by teaching skills that help your teen to understand and manage emotions
Family systems therapy when appropriate, which approaches the family as a whole and how your teen’s behaviors or problems are interconnected with you or other members of your family
The Role of the Therapist
During sessions, your teen’s therapist is supportive and nonjudgmental. Teen therapists are trained in adolescent development. They understand the problems teens may be facing these days and how to best equip them to cope with their struggles. For teen therapists, the goal is to help teens understand how they’re feeling and develop the skills to build resilience.
How Parents Are Involved
Parents are not left out of their teen’s therapy journey. Teen therapists provide parent updates and check-ins, or even family sessions when helpful to strengthen relationships and help teens feel seen, heard, and validated.
How Teen Therapy Helps With Common Challenges
While every teen faces their own unique problems, many struggle with the same common challenges. Teen therapy and adolescent counseling intend to help your child keep stride in today’s world.
Anxiety & Stress
As we said, the pressures facing today’s teens are greater than before, often becoming a major source of anxiety in the lives of the youth. The stress to excel in every aspect of life can quickly overwhelming teens. Therapy offers teens ways to learn to manage racing thoughts, social pressure, and perfectionism through different approaches and coping mechanisms.
Depression & Low Self-Worth
Being a teen isn’t easy. It’s the most transformative time in everyone’s life. Often, teens can experience depression and low self-worth, self-esteem, and confidence, which can impact their ability to remain resilient. Therapy involves exploring identity, addressing isolation, and building self-esteem to help your teen embrace who they are and succeed in the way they want to in life.
Peer Relationships & Communication
When struggling with mental health, it can be difficult for teens to feel comfortable with their peers, or even expressing how they feel. Especially with how prevalent social media is in the lives of teens, peer dynamics can be even harder to figure out. Navigating conflict, boundaries, and online/social media dynamics during therapy can help strengthen your teen’s peer relationships and ability to communicate effectively.
Life Transitions
Teen years are already some of the most difficult to navigate. This time can be tougher when unexpected life changes occur. Adjusting to divorce, moves, school changes, or identity shifts can weigh on your teen, negatively impacting their mental well-being. Mental health for teens during these changes requires extra attention to help your teen cope.
Why Therapy Isn’t “Just for Serious Problems”
It’s a myth that therapy is only for moments of crisis or “serious problems.” The stigma against seeking therapy can be detrimental—especially when mental health struggles are just starting to surface. In fact, early intervention is the best way to prevent any further decline. But your teen doesn’t need to be deeply struggling to consider seeing a therapist. Therapy is a strategy to help your teen continue to remain resilient and feel comfortable to discuss feelings.
Addressing the Stigma
There is a stigma against when therapy is right. Many people think therapy is only necessary for when something bad is happening, or if someone is at a low point. Destigmatizing therapy reveals it is a tool for growth, not just crisis. It’s a form of self-care, similar to how people exercise regularly to maintain their health. Teens don’t have to hit rock bottom to benefit.
Early Intervention = Long-Term Resilience
The truth is, therapy is for anyone, at any time. You don’t have to wait for your teen to have a moment of crisis to contact a therapist. Mental health for teens can be nurtured even at the first sign that something is not OK. In fact, early intervention leads to long-term resilience. Early intervention Prevents escalation into more severe mental health issues. Even more, skills learned in therapy can support teens into adulthood. Therapy provides teens with the tools they need to live authentically and advocate for themselves.
Teen Therapy at Insight Northwest Counseling
Insight Northwest Counseling provides teen therapy and counseling in Eugene and Portland, Oregon. We offer adolescent counseling with mental health professionals who are highly experienced and qualified. Our counselors specialize in the therapy treatment of teens and have specific tools and modalities that are key in supporting teens through the hardships they are experiencing.
Our Approach
Our team is composed of compassionate, skilled therapists with adolescent expertise, who acknowledge and validate your teen’s feelings and struggles, while helping them to navigate what they’re facing. Our approach is trauma-informed, identity-affirming, and strength-based to make sure your teen is seen and heard.
Support in Eugene and Portland
In-person and virtual sessions are available for your teen to meet them, even with a busy academic schedule. We also offer peer support, family engagement, and medication management as needed.
Helping Teens Thrive
Our teen therapy empowers teens with tools for emotional strength, clarity, and confidence. We want to build your child up, collaborate with them to work toward positive self-talk, positive communication, and healthy coping habits that will carry them through to adulthood.
Give Your Teen the Tools to Thrive
Especially nowadays, teens face big emotions and pressures. The stress can negatively impact their mental health, and it’s OK to reach out for help. As a parent, you are their greatest resource, and considering therapy for your teen is an act of love and care.
Teen therapy provides a safe, effective way for your child to cope and grow. It is a gift of support that fosters resilience and confidence.
Rady to support your teen? Reach out to Insight Northwest Counseling in Eugene or Portland to get started with adolescent counseling.