Teens and counseling
Being a teenager today is challenging - there are huge conveniences that make our lives easier but the consequences of that can be detrimental. Life is so fast paced and stressful for teens. Dealing with expectations coming from school and home can feel overwhelming causing some teenagers to shut down. Compound that with the influx of social media, bullying, toxic friendships, the news and peer pressure and you have a recipe for depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety are on the rise for adolescents - see the stats here. Many teens are also dealing with poverty, abuse, neglect or addiction. I don’t want to dwell though on all the problems in our society that teens are dealing with; I like to focus on solutions, mindset and change. How can we help?
If you notice your teen is struggling, counseling can help. He/she/they may be resistant or you may even be resistant. It’s another thing to add to the agenda and let’s face it, some teens like to keep feelings and thoughts to themselves. So, what can you expect from counseling, how will it help? I think the first thing you can expect and your teenager can expect is compassion. Acknowledgment of what someone else is going through and offering support can go a long way. Building rapport with a non-judgmental and non-biased person can offer relief and the opportunity to talk openly. Counseling can offer the client empowerment and confidence because they are developing tools and working towards goals with support. Mindsets can change, sense of humor can be found and maybe a smile and hope can appear. It takes time and a willingness to change, but counseling can help.
I offer virtual counseling, which is very convenient for your teen to log on and connect with me. I would love to help! Feel free to reach out and connect with me if you have any questions. Take care,