Helping Children & Teens Overcome Challenges with Therapy
Children
Many times, adults will look at children with envy – after all, their responsibilities are nothing like an adult’s responsibilities. One may think, “They have it easy! They don’t have to pay the bills, grocery shop, and all the other things I have to do to make sure our needs are being met!” While that is true, children still face responsibilities that they find daunting, but will prepare them for adult responsibilities. However, they lack the skills that grown-ups have in dealing with the stressors of the responsibilities! It is during childhood that we learn social skills, emotional regulation, stress management, etc. through our childhood responsibilities. Unfortunately, children are also seen as weak and vulnerable and can be easily manipulated which may result in physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
With the struggles of growing up and life, our young ones need a little extra help navigating their emotions and behaviors. It is common to find that as they learn to understand themselves and the world around them, they may struggle with “big feelings”, difficult transitions, or challenging life and/or social situations. With the right support, they can learn to build resilience, have more emotional awareness, and increase healthy coping skills.
Teens
In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, there is a line that says, "People say parenting is the hardest job in the world - they're wrong - growing up is. We all just forget how hard it was." Childhood can be hard and gets even harder in the teenage years.
The Adolescence years can be a difficult and confusing time in life. Teens are unique as they are not children and not quite adults, and thus navigating the bridge between dependence and independence. The brain is also experiencing rapid growth, particularly in areas responsible for decision-making, impulse control, and emotional regulation. As a result, they experience a whirlwind of emotions and mood swings and heightened sensitivity, have an increase in impulsive behaviors, identity exploration, and increasing responsibilities, all while trying to figure out who they are. They face numerous pressures with school, friends, expectations of adults in their lives, and self-discovery. This can feel quite overwhelming. When a teenager finds the right support, guidance, and feels understood, teens can feel more confident, resilient, and develop the skills needed to embrace this transformative phase and move toward a healthy, fulfilling future.
How our therapists can support your healing process:
As we work with you and your teenager, we will help both of you to understand these changes, provide support, and foster a sense of stability. We understand the importance of a secure attachment, especially during these years, and are here to help heal any attachment wounds as well.
Through the use of a variety of treatment modalities, your teen will learn skills to build emotional resiliency, sound decision-making, and process through their life struggles as they navigate this new phase in their life and prepare for adulthood.
A few examples of therapeutic models we draw from include:
Motivational Interviewing
Expressive Arts
Sandtray Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, etc)
See below for a list of our experienced youth therapists for children and teens ⬇️