Adolescent Therapy
In the beginning of most therapists’ career, they are open to work with all ages and challenges. There are therapists who know immediately who they want to help. Eventually, most therapists find the specific population they want to see in therapy.
Initially, I wanted to work with children and adolescents and that’s what I did for many years. I saw children as young as 4 up to 20 years old. Trauma was always my area of focus. When I worked at a hospital clinic, I eventually held different roles and continued to narrow the population I saw. In the end, the majority of my caseload was adolescents.
Now, in my private practice, I see pre-teens, teens and adults. I enjoy working with adolescents. There are a few reasons.
Many adolescent recognize the importance of their own mental health. While an adolescent under age 18 cannot scheduled an appointment, they often find several therapists and give the list to their parents. In other cases, it is the parent who encouraged the teen to attend therapy.
Adolescents are open to ideas to try to maintain their mental health and recognize the importance of mental health. Adolescence is a stage of change. There are physical, cognitive and emotional changes. Adolescents are dealing with school, peers and family plus they are trying to figure out who they are. This developmental stage involves a lot of pressure. The pressure teens today feels different and teens today are doing something about it.
Plus, adolescents are funny and keep me on my toes as a therapist.
There is so much going on in this stage. Teens are dealing with physical changes, emotional changes and social changes. On top of this, there is brain is basically under reconstruction. Let’s talk about the recent events of the last few few years. Teens are trying to figure out who there are and what’s next for them after high school graduation.
If you have a teen in your life, check in with them. Get curious about what they are thinking, what they like and especially how they are feelings.
Take Action.
Reilly Counseling offers individual therapy online or in person. The office is located in Southwest Arlington at 3901 W. Green Oaks Blvd. Suite B, Arlington, TX 76016. Most major insurance is accepted. Check out www.reillycounselingtx.com to schedule a free consult or call 682-777-3079.
