The Coronavirus And Teens

Is your teen struggling with missing school, events, and friends? Are they not listening to the social distancing order, increasing your worry about your family’s well-being? Or are they depressed and withdrawn, grieving over the loss of the end of the school year and the events that entailed? Are they expressing more anger and creating additional conflict in your household?

Being a teenager is generally hard. Being one during a global pandemic is even harder. Parenting a teen through a global pandemic is a challenge no parent thought they would need to endure. You are not alone in your stress, worries, and frustrations.

Online therapy can help your teen through this difficult time. They can gain insights and skills. They can learn how to process through their grief and other difficult emotions that arose due to the quarantine. Online therapy can also help you, the parent, get the support you need. You do not need to weather this storm alone. Contact us for a free consultation to learn how we can help you and your teen during the quarantine.

Are You Worried About Your Teenager’s Well-being? 

Are you concerned about your teenager’s mental or emotional well-being? Are they suddenly moody, irritable or defiant? Perhaps you’ve noticed your child withdrawing or that he or she seems overly anxious, struggling to juggle the demands of school, increasingly complex social relationships and hormonal changes. You might wonder if this is part of normal teenage angst or if something more serious is going on. 

Maybe you’re having a hard time communicating with and understanding your teen, especially if they are acting out, talking back, and is angry or despondent. It might be that your child is struggling with the aftereffects of trauma, increasingly anxious and/or sad, and you’re not sure what you can do to help. Do you feel worried, helpless, frustrated and confused? Do you wish you could get your teen to open up, communicate what’s going on and feel happy, stable and agreeable? 

Being A Teenager Is Hard

The adolescent years can be a struggle, and all teens go through something. Many new emotions and challenges come up during these years, especially with the changes in their brain and body, higher complexity social relationships and thoughts about their futures. And all this happens as teens are trying to figure out who they are, in ways that parents might not be okay with. It’s not uncommon for teenagers to push back on their parents, thinking that they know better than them.

All teens will struggle with something, yet some teens have it harder than others. While new emotions and challenges come up during this time, new disorders, such as anxiety and depression, often arise during this time too. Some kids are more sensitive or have a hard time regulating emotions. Others struggle with ADHD and the additional challenges that come with that. And, then there is trauma, which is increasingly prevalent in today’s world, and can compound other issues and make everything seem and feel worse.

Teen Therapy Provides Your Teen With Guidance, Support And Skills

Parenting teens is hard work. When your once sweet and easy child starts acting out, withdrawing or struggling with something specific it can be hard to know what to do. The good news is that teen counseling can help. With the guidance and support of a compassionate, practical and highly skilled teen counselor, your child can gain the support, resources, insights and skills that they can use immediately to feel better and carry into his or her future.

With the right teen counselor and approach, teen counseling can be extremely effective, helping your child learn how to better self-regulate, manage stress and increase self-awareness. There are skills that your teen can learn now that can bolster confidence today and that can be carried into the future as tools to draw from when life gets even more stressful.

In our work with teens, we draw from experiential and somatic (body) based models that are highly effective, evidence-based approaches that promote healthy communication, connection and closeness, while giving teens the safe space to voice concerns and talk openly about what is going on in their lives. Working with your teen from a experiential or somatic approach teaches valuable skills when it comes to managing, regulating, and healing the nervous system. They will be able to quickly identify appropriate coping skills during moments of distress or dysregulation. Every teen is different, which is why we create a counseling plan that addresses, honors and supports their specific challenges, needs and goals. Whether your teen is struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma or academic and social issues, the goal is always to increase confidence and communication, helping your teen get his or her needs met while learning how to be in the world.

We really enjoy working with teens. We approach our practice from a totally nonjudgmental place, and teens tend to feel safe opening up to us. We believe in working collaboratively with your child to collectively figure out what their needs are while respecting where your teen is in life.

Regardless of what is going on with your child right now, it is possible for them to feel happier and more centered and focused. Your teen can start tackling life with confidence while learning how to communicate and connect with family and friends in ways that are nourishing and supportive. In the warm, safe and open environment of teen therapy sessions, your teen can identify, explore and address pressing issues while developing skills and tools that they can carry forward into young adulthood and adult life. 

You might still have questions or concerns about teen therapy…

 

Is there a way for me to tell if what is going on with my child is normal teenage angst or if something more serious is occurring?

You know your child best. If you feel concerned, it’s best to be proactive and at least seek out an initial teen counseling consultation. All teens can benefit from extra support during this challenging time in life development. It may be that your teen really does need counseling to help with stress, communication and emotional regulation; however, these are skills that everyone can benefit from learning early in life and can greatly assist your teen as they move into adulthood. 

Are sessions confidential?

Per State of Colorado guidelines and regulations, sessions with teenagers 12-years-old and older are confidential. We would only be allowed to break confidentiality if there was concern of the teen hurting themselves, harming another or being harmed. The goal is always for your teen to develop the insights and closeness and communication skills to share directly what is going on for them, which can be done in one of their sessions or in a family therapy session. 

I’m trying to get my teenager into therapy, but he or she is unwilling to go.

It’s not uncommon for teens to be reluctant toward the idea of counseling, but if you are concerned about the mental and emotional well-being of your child it’s important that you don’t give up. We invite you to come in so we can talk about what is going on and we can gather information about your teen and help guide you. Generally, we suggest gently expressing your concern to your teen and asking your teenager to try just a few sessions. We tend to have a really good rapport with teens, and ones who initially expressed resistance now look forward to coming. Fairly quickly, most feel that they’re really getting something out of teen counseling sessions and enjoy feeling heard and processing through what’s going on in their lives with someone who is an objective, nonjudgmental, compassionate guide. 

Your Teen Can Live With More Confidence, Clarity And Joy

Being a teenager is hard. Parenting a teen can be just as hard. If your teen and/or family is struggling right now, please know that you’re not alone and that things can and will get better. If you’re seeking teen counseling in Broomfield, CO or the surrounding area, we can help. We invite you to contact us at (303) 606-6818 for a complimentary consultation to discuss your needs and goals and how we can best help and support your teenager.