Worried About Your Adolescent?
Parenting adolescents is universally challenging. No only is the road paved with high emotions and boundary testing, but a child’s progression in the teen years can put marriages under strain and test the strength of the entire family.
We know that as a parent you hope for independence and happiness for your teens and want the to learn who they are, who they want to become, make good choices, and live a healthy, fulfilling life. But during this sometimes turbulent time, it can be difficult to know what behaviors are “normal” for your teen and when there may be a more serious problem.
Signs Your Teen Could Benefit from Therapy:
- Abnormal amount of anger, acting out, arguing, or changes in eating habits.
- Changes in academic or athletic performance.
- Engaging in risky or self-harming behaviors.
- Teen appears sad more than normal, lives in isolation, or has large swings in mood.
- Teen has changes in groups of friends – i.e., hanging out with different people and ignoring old friends.
- Changes in activities they once loved.
- Aggressive behavior towards others.
- Changes in sleep patterns.
- Complains of headache, stomachache, or not feeling well despite being healthy.
- Major changes to family life – i.e., divorce, re-marriage, or death.
- Sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.
- Problems with drugs or alcohol.
Although it is true that song young people struggle with clinically diagnosable mental illnesses (such as depression, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder) and that other young people face challenges with serious behavior issues (such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or oppositional-defiance disorder), it is important for teachers, school administrators, and parents to recognize that there are a wide range of relatively benign concerns that children need help sorting out.
Sometimes it’s best for that help to come from someone other than a friend or family member. Evolve has a team of therapists who are specialized in working with adolescents.l Take the first step in getting help today by calling us!
WHAT TO EXPECT
In your first session, we will take a comprehensive assessment of your teen’s history. We will also hear your goals for your teen. This will deepen our understanding of your teen and his//her needs. Your teen does not need to attend this session if you would prefer to discuss the reasons that brought your to take them to therapy and the impact it has on the life of the family.
This session is completed with you and your teen. The goal of this session is to help your teen feel comfortable and to develop rapport with their therapist. During this session, your clinician will be able to see the dynamic as well as your teen’s response style. This is very helpful in the clinical process.
After we have completed the first two sessions, we will schedule your teen according to their custom treatment plan. Teens who start weekly or bi-weekly sessions typically see the fastest results. The frequency of sessions are evaluated and reassessed on an ongoing basis.
