When I was a teenager, I remember feeling misunderstood, self conscious, and was constantly questioning myself. Now as an adult, I know that this is just par for the course of being a teen. Even though I was surrounded by a loving family, great friends, and trusted adults, I still felt this sense of discomfort in seeking the kind of support that you can only get from someone unbiased, and well versed in life stages. That is why I now commonly work with teens. It can be invaluable for someone going through this life stage to have someone to talk to who they know will not judge them, and will be able to guide them to understand themselves better.
One of the most common issues that the teens I work with struggle with is self esteem. Teens these days are inundated with hyper edited images on social media, and online in general. They are also constantly seeing everything that their peers are doing and experiencing feelings of being left out or missing out on something. What we are seeing now is teens comparing themselves more than ever to celebrities, influencers, and their peers and feeling a lack of satisfaction with their lives.
Benefits of Teen Therapy
Therapy is a space for them to voice everything going on for them to a trusted adult who has their best interest and safety as a priority. It can feel difficult to see all of the wonderful things about you when you are comparing yourself to others, or when you are experiencing bullying by a peer at school. While your parents might be able to point these things out, sometimes having someone outside of family help you see those things about yourself and find pride in who you are can instill the confidence you need to be less impacted by the negativity around you, and trust in who you are.
Part of the teen experience is trying to find who you are and begin trying different styles, different personalities and different hobbies to discover what fits you best. It is totally normal to start to feel closer with your peers and want to spend more time with them than you do with family. It can be difficult to understand yourself during these times, and difficult for your parent to understand you, which is why it can be so helpful to have a professional who can guide you through this time.
Now more than ever, we are seeing a destigmatization of seeking mental health services, and as a therapist working with teens, I have seen measurable improvements in the lives of my clients, their parents, and the whole family just by having support to navigate through a sometimes difficult and confusing stage of life.
If you are a teen, or the parent of a teen and you feel like support is needed, please reach out to me to set up a free, no obligation consultation. The importance of teen therapy shouldn’t go ignored, so click below to learn more about how we can work together!