Not taking new teen clients at this time due to a full schedule.

Teens can be tricky. Your sweet innocent baby seems like they turned into a different person! It may feel like they are shutting you out. They may spend hours alone either texting or on social media, seem sullen, not engaged with you at all and moody. Sometimes your teen may come home with poor grades or receive negative feedback from teachers regarding defiant behavior or difficulty with peers. Is your teen dating and navigating the word of love and sex. Maybe your teen is a perfectionist but yet with so many complex areas like friends, dating trial and error, appearances, exercise, dieting, grades, college or career prep it is bringing about depression or anxiety. Does it seem that balancing all of today’s demands is overwhelming to your teen? Maybe your teen is struggling with social cliques or bullying. Are you worried about drugs or alcohol? Do you feel even the smallest conversations are a struggle? Feel powerless to change it or not even sure where to start?

If your teenager has shut out the world—and you along with it—you probably feel as though your heart is breaking. You might sit awake at night worrying about your teen and their future. After school your teen might not want to discuss the day and ignore you. Perhaps you feel like you’ve somehow failed as a parent and that you’ve lost your child. You may desperately wish you could reach out to your teen, but feel you lack the tools to do so. You might try to talk but feel like even a basic conversation is difficult.

Teenagers Often Experience Complicated Feelings During High School
If your teen seems alienated, has difficulty making new friends or is giving you the silent treatment, you are not alone. Many parents feel estranged from their children during adolescence – a time when many teens’ main desire is to escape from the world. For a lot of teens, high school functions like a mini society in which social segregation and fitting in mean everything. High school is a particularly trying time for girls, who can obsess over their appearance, feeling as though they don’t have the right clothes, can’t attract a romantic partner or aren’t skinny enough. It’s common for teens to experience anxiety and/or depression if they have trouble establishing meaningful relationships with peers. For teens who don’t “fit in,” simply going to class can elicit anxiety, which may explain why your teen dreads going to school in the morning, appearing only to go out of a sense of obligation. To cope with the pressures of social and academic life, some teens look for fulfillment in romantic relationships, while others may begin to experiment with drugs and alcohol. They may refuse to answer questions about their day, leaving mom and dad frustrated by their lack of communication.

With the Help of Teen Counseling, Your Child Can Begin to Prosper in all Areas of Life
High school doesn’t have to wreak havoc on your teen’s self-esteem. As a therapist who is comfortable working with teens, I have the skills to help your teen become more secure in him or herself, improve academic achievement and find fulfillment in relationships. In teen counseling sessions, your teen can begin to draw strength from the things he or she does best. Building on strengths and engaging in enjoyed activities—like art, music, or other extracurricular pursuits—helps build confidence, which can ultimately help your teen find happiness in other areas of life.

If you’re feeling hurt over your teen’s refusal to speak to you about what’s going on at school, know that there are some topics—such as a breakup with a partner or feelings about the body—that are too embarrassing for some teens to discuss with parents. A parent is a child’s greatest advocate, but often all that’s needed is an unbiased, trusted adult to enable your teen to open up about the issues that are causing him or her pain. With the help of therapy, teens can talk through their problems, identify issues that are creating anxiety and learn to manage complicated emotions.

Although you may be feeling helpless as a parent, know that things can get better. Through the help of teen counseling, your teenager can become more self-confident and self-aware and learn to appreciate his or her authentic self-worth rather than relying on things like beauty, popularity or romantic relationships for affirmation.