Teen Therapy

About Teen Therapy at Larsen Behavioral Wellness

At Larsen Behavioral Wellness, our therapists have extensive knowledge, training, and expertise working with teen clients. We use a model of therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (also known as CBT) to help teens with emotional, thought, and behavioral challenges. We focus on building a strong and trusting relationship with every teen that walks into our offices. From there, we work with teens to address problematic thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Using a combination of games, play, and word exercises, teen therapy is both fun and engaging. Teens leave therapy learning new skills and building confidence and emotional resilience.

We Help Teens and Families Address:

• Sadness

• Irritability

• Anxiety

• Agitation

• Defiance/Oppositionality

• Inattention and lack of focus

• Performance anxiety

• Social anxiety

• Sports related anxiety

• Divorce/Remarriage

• Sibling Conflict/Peer Conflict

• Low confidence/Self esteem

• Emotional Instability

• Suicidal Thoughts

• Obsessive Thoughts/Compulsions

• Eating Disorders/Body Dysmorphia

Parents, Our Therapists are here for you and your teen

• Would You Like Help Understanding Your Teen?

• Does your teen have difficulty with constant worry?

• Have they been overwhelmed with feelings of perfectionism or upsetting, repeated thoughts about future events?

• Does he or she seem sad, withdrawn, or down?

• Is your teen having trouble with independent tasks?

• Perhaps you feel like your teen is distant or lacks interest in activities that used to give them joy.

• Or, maybe your teen has trouble socializing or making friends, and you don’t know how to help them.

• Is your teen ignoring rules, being defiant, or having trouble following through with basic tasks?

• Do you feel frustrated with your teen’s unwillingness to listen to you or cooperate?

• Is your son or daughter resistant to changes in routine or overtly aggressive?

• Do you wish you could enjoy family gatherings or social events with your teen again?

If any of this sounds like your teen, it is likely that you’ve been frustrated, confused, and just plain sad at times. You may even feel time with your teen is out of reach.  You may feel like you are walking on eggshells, going great distances to avoid outbursts and emotional fits.  You wish you could figure out how to help your teen. You may even worry that rather than helping, your responses may be exacerbating the situation. You wish that you could help your teen control their emotions and worry that they won’t live up to their potential if things continue on this path.

Whatever your concerns and whatever obstacles your son or daughter faces, you don’t have to struggle in isolation.  Would you like to gain a better understanding of your teen’s behavior and gain the necessary tools and skills to improve their well-being and set them on a path for success?

Many Parents Struggle to Help Their Teen

All parents struggle from time to time; however, if you are trying to help your teen overcome behavioral, emotional, social or academic challenges, it can seem like an unending cycle of trial and error. Adolescence is a trying time for many. Teens are developing into their own unique selves. Teens typically look for autonomy and independence, but they often lack the judgement to make sound decisions. Your teen may be faced with overwhelming social pressures to conform to group standards and engage in risky or damaging behavior. He or she may be under tremendous academic stress or suffer with performance anxiety when taking tests. Sport has become an area of stress for many, as standards of play have become increasingly competitive and teens struggle to make the cut.

The internet and social media have radically altered the landscape for today’s teenagers. Communications are seamless and instantaneous. Teens are in constant communication with one another. One small mistake or social error can be recorded and blasted out to the entire school only to be played on repeat for all time in just an instant. Teen girls are barraged with social media that promotes unachievable beauty standards and unhealthy behaviors. Teen boys are distracted by addictive video games that steal time and attention from more productive ventures. Vivid and often violent pornography is widely available, distorting young people’s ideas about sexuality and sexual development.

The confluence of these factors has led to an alarming rise in the rates of teen mental distress. Indeed, according to the NIMH statistics (drawing from earlier but foundational surveys like NCS-A) teens demonstrate a lifetime prevalence of any anxiety disorder at 31.9% for adolescents ages 13–18. The number is higher for girls (38.0%) than boys (26.1%). For major depressive episodes in the past year, rates reach about 20.1% among ages 12–17, with girls at 29.2% versus boys at 11.5%. Thus, while teen girls seem to be struggling at higher rates than teen boys, both are under significant strain.

Teen Counseling Can Provide Your Teen with Skills and Resources

A teen may be struggling internally but not communicating their experiences to their parents. Oftentimes, teens feel self-conscious about talking to their parents about what is really going on with them. They may fear judgement from their parents or punishment in the form of reduced privileges. Parents may go to great lengths to learn what is going on, such as looking into journals or cell phones, only to realize that teens are very good at evading their attempts for information. These attempts can lead to further erosion of the parent-teen relationship, causing a downward cycle that is difficult to mend.

Trusting a caring professional with your teen child can be the first step in your journey toward wellness. A therapist is trained to listen and provide gentle suggestions to help teens make wise decisions that promote fullness in life. Our teen and family therapists help to heal damaged parent-child relationships, fostering a sense of connectivity and trust. Therapy helps teens to build their self-confidence and promotes a healthy sense of identity. Therapy helps teens to outline their valutes and core strengths and can help them to be intentional in their choices and behaviors.

Ultimately, parents can’t be there every minute to help their child make good and wise decisions. However, therapy can be a place where teens work through their choices with a trusted adult. In a way, therapy can boost your teen’s frontal lobe productivity so that he or she is making good choices and staying on track to fulfill their life’s purpose.

I am considering teen counseling, but I still have some concerns…

I’m worried my teen will be reduced to a label.

We understand your concerns and we don’t like reductionistic labels either. Teens are multifaceted, and their issues are complicated by many external circumstances (school, family, and community). Labels are reductionistic and often misused to describe a teen’s struggles as something inherently wrong with them. That is why we avoid labeling teens with mental health diagnosis unless specifically asked by parents. We will discuss our observations with you and work with you to come to a complete understanding of your teen’s strengths and weaknesses, including any diagnoses we think may be appropriate.  Your privacy and confidentiality are strictly protected.  We would never share diagnoses with a school or insurance company without your explicit consent to do so. The reality is, regardless of the label, if your teen is suffering intervention is critical; the more you help them overcome their challenges now, the better-equipped they will be to handle future challenges on their own.

I don’t know if I can fit this into our schedule.

One of the benefits of working with us is our clinic’s flexibility. We understand that your teen is busy with school and that you are occupied with other commitments. We don’t want to add stress to your plate, and that is why we also offer extended hours. In fact, most of our sessions take place in the after school or on the weekends. We offer teletherapy options and, in fact, some of the therapies offered are just as effective when given to you over the internet as they are in person. You’d be amazed at how much children open up when they are in the comfort their natural environment.  So, regardless of your schedule, we can work to accommodate your needs. 

Is therapy something my teen will have to do forever?

Many people fear that therapy is an unending process which is far from the case. Indeed, some teens may benefit from or even desire a longer duration of therapy, just as some adults do. However, because we focus on research backed therapy modalities that teach skills and applying them to your real-life problems, we can often make progress in just a few short weeks.  We use the best, most cutting-edge therapies to help you in the shortest amount of time possible.

Helping Your Teen Is Possible

If you are concerned about your teen’s functioning, counseling can offer you answers and support. Please call 201 639 3361 or contact us for a free, 15-minute consultation. We would be happy to address any reservations or questions you may have about our approach to teen therapy.