Has Your Teen Lost Their Direction?
Remember when your child wanted to go wherever you went? When they were able to talk to you about their day? They may have looked up to you and saw you as their role model. It is important to find great teenage counseling services near you. Cardinal Point Counseling’s Cathy Dye has over 20 years of experience working with young adults and could be an excellent fit.
The same area of the child’s brain wired for parental attachment, changes to be wired for independence around the teenage years. It makes sense from a biological perspective. Young children need their parents for mere survival. We may not want to acknowledge it, but adolescent brains are wired to start thinking about finding the best life partner to replace you. Their brains may be wired to think about reproduction as a strong evolutionary urge to keep the population alive. The need to rebel helps children to find their wanted independence.
Emotionally, teenagers are almost definitely not ready for what their minds are telling them. They still need protection; adolescents need to develop a means to find financial resources long term. Teens need a balance between independence and control. They are at a crossroads where they really need to find a direction that will prepare them for the future while finding more autonomy in the present.
It is Normal for Teens to Struggle
Mental illness is common in teens, or perhaps normal teen behavior is often diagnosed as mental illness.
There are no shortage of mental health diagnoses for teens. Some of them are indeed legitimate, while some may be related to typical teenage behavior. Unless it would change treatment and improve treatment planning, we don’t focus much on diagnosis and labels. Treatments are available, whether stress or anxiety, sadness or depression, low priorities for school, ADHD, self-esteem, or more severe image disorders. The list of other conditions that commonly impact teens goes on and on (including parents’ divorce, bullying, self-harm, issues with friends, sports or extracurricular activity stress, problems with siblings, etc).
There can be Hope
If your teen is suffering from a mental health condition, trauma, anxiety, bullying, stress, or substantial stress or sadness, treatments are available. Be careful, however, of anyone who promises they can transform your teenager into their former self. The teenage years are about change, and counseling for teens and adolescents is about a balance of understanding root causes, helping address symptoms, and accepting parts of your teenager that are part of who they have become (at least for a short period). Teens may also need to process parental divorce or separation, sports anxiety, school anxiety, preparing for the future, or romantic relationships.
Common Concerns
This is a common concern, as adolescents are often reluctant to discuss their feelings at home. Cardinal Point Counseling prides itself on building therapeutic relationships. We can relate to adolescents and move at their pace. Some initial sessions may involve getting to know your teen and also using structured techniques that do not require adolescents to be expected to just open up.
Sometimes teens just need someone to talk to in confidence who isn’t a parent. Most parents do their best, and we all make some mistakes. Having a teen in therapy does not mean you have failed them, but is instead a sign that you are taking an important step to get them assistance.
We typically like to reserve some time during the first session to meet with just the parent(s). A parent(s) may be called in to join a session with the adolescents consent. Family therapy could be used if there are issues that need discussed in counseling with the teen and parent(s). For the most part, parents will not be in the room during counseling of their adolescent.
Parents would often choose different friends for their teen than they choose themselves. Adolescents can be taught to make responsible choices, but they will only find new or different friends if they so choose. With the abundance of cliques in middle and high school, moving into a new friend group is not an easy task even for a teen who desires too. While your child’s friends may not provide the influence they prefer, having the independence to form friends with those of one’s choose is a growing experience. Chances are, your teens friends now will not be their only friends forever.
| Next Steps | ||
 | Have questions, call 614.327.1600 or contact us |