Teen Counseling
Is your Teen Struggling?
Are You Concerned About Your Teenager’s Behavior?
Does your teen seem unusually withdrawn and unsociable lately?
Are they disengaged in school and struggling to get along with their peers?
Do you feel like every attempt to help them just falls flat?
Maybe your teenager is dealing with bullying, peer pressure, or social anxiety. Perhaps they’re hard on themselves about school and suffer meltdowns whenever they don’t get a perfect grade. Or maybe the problem is just the opposite—they don’t care about academics and have little motivation to succeed in life. They may be dealing with anxiety, depression, OCD, autism, and other mental and behavioral challenges.
To cope with their struggles, your teenager might turn to drugs, alcohol, excessive gaming, and other unhealthy habits. As a result, you may be considering talking to a therapist who works with teens.
As Worried As You Are About Your Teen, You May Be At A Loss To Help Them
It’s heartbreaking to watch your teenager experience mental or emotional distress. You might be desperate to figure out what’s happening and go to great lengths to help them out. Yet now that your teenager is older and more independent, they may be more resistant to tell you what’s going on. As a result, you feel stuck between a rock and a hard place—you don’t know whether to get more involved or leave them alone.
Parenting a struggling teenager is immensely stressful—we understand. At Milford Counseling, our therapists specialize in working with teens. We’re confident that we can help your teenager manage their emotions more effectively, improve their relationships, and gain real-life coping skills for dealing with life’s challenges.
Along the way, we want to help you play a vital role in their journey toward healing and wellness, ensuring that your relationship with your teen stays strong long into the future.
Teens In Today’s World Are Under Unprecedented Amounts Of Stress
There’s no denying it—teens nowadays don’t have it easy. On top of hormonal challenges, peer pressure, and all the other normal difficulties of the teen years, they have to reckon with increasing pressure to be at the top of their class and get into a good school. Additionally, they have to navigate the complex world of social media and the unhealthy comparison culture it’s created. All over their timelines, teens see other teens who seem better-looking and more popular than they are, and this leads many of them to despair and believe they’re not good enough.
For teens to successfully navigate all these problems, they need a strong support system. But in the wake of a global pandemic, having an adequate support system has become a rarity. Many teens feel isolated and are struggling to find their way socially after years of being cooped up and forced to do school virtually. As a result, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of teenagers going to therapy.
So Many Parents Are In The Same Situation As You
You’re not alone. There are many, many parents who are doing all they can to help their teens and still feel like it’s not enough. Oftentimes, they internalize their teenagers’ struggles and blame themselves, thinking: Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently?
The truth is far more complicated than that. After all, you can be the best parent in the world, but that doesn’t guarantee that your teen won’t face mental health challenges. This is why it’s important to be kind to yourself. Your teenager’s issues are not a reflection of your parenting.
At Milford Counseling, we know you’re doing the best you can and we’re here to affirm that. We want to take some of the weight off your shoulders by providing your teen with compassionate and evidence-based therapeutic care.
Counseling Can Help Your Teen Grow Into The Best Version Of Themselves
Every teen can benefit from having an unbiased professional in their life that they can talk to without any fear of judgment. Most teens are used to adults who are authority figures, but that’s not the case here at Milford Counseling. Our therapists understand the challenges of being a modern-day teenager and we know how to get on their level and make them feel engaged, understood, and cared for.
We offer therapy for anxiety, depression, OCD, low self-esteem, and a wide range of other teenage mental health issues. We also have a clinician on staff who’s board-certified in helping teens with autism. Different mental health disorders require different treatment approaches, and that’s why therapy with us is always individualized to suit the needs of each teen.
What To Expect In Teen Counseling Session
In the beginning, we’ll generally have a session with you to talk about your concerns followed by a session with your teen so that we can hear their perspective. From there, all of us will work on putting an assessment together so that we have a plan for your teen’s time in therapy.
Although the majority of counseling will take place between your teen and their therapist, we still want you to be involved in their treatment. Since you know your teen better than anyone, we deeply value your feedback and would love to check in with you from time to time regarding their progress. As a practice, we’ve seen incredible things happen when parents are invested in their teen’s mental health.
In addition to providing therapy, our staff works closely with a number of psychiatrists and clinicians who can prescribe medication and offer diagnostic evaluations. We believe that you deserve answers to your teen’s mental health issues and we’re here to help you find them.
Our Approach To Teenage Therapy
We go out of our way to make therapy engaging for teenagers. Our therapists often utilize art therapy to help them express themselves and tap into their creativity. We also offer animal therapy and have two certified therapy dogs, Maizey and Ruby, who are very friendly and nurturing. They provide a great incentive for teenagers who love animals to keep coming to therapy (that said, we understand the importance of allergy concerns and can make arrangements if your teenager has any).
On a deeper level, we often use Motivational Interviewing to help teens come up with their own solutions and live a life that’s in line with their goals and values. We also utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help teens challenge and reframe negative thoughts and beliefs, allowing them to change the way they see themselves and the world around them.
No matter what your teen is going through, our goal is to empower them to shift their perspective, boost their confidence, and grow into the person they’ve always dreamt of becoming.
You May Have Some Questions And Concerns About Teen Therapy…
What if my teen doesn’t want to go to counseling?
If your teen is resistant to counseling, you can encourage them to try a session to see if they like it. Most teens imagine therapy as cold and clinical, but our approach is warm, inviting, and specifically geared toward the needs and interests of teens. We are experienced in working with teens and we know how to make therapy comfortable for them thanks to art therapy, animal therapy, and other teen-friendly approaches.
How do I know if my teenager needs therapy?
The truth is that anyone can benefit from therapy regardless of how their life is going. For teens, counseling is especially vital because it can give them the self-awareness and emotional intelligence to prepare for the challenges of adulthood. So no matter what your teenager is going through right now, therapy is an investment in their mental health that can pay dividends for years to come. Besides, if you’re reading this page, you’ve probably sensed that your teen is struggling and in need of some extra support.
How long should I expect my teen to be in counseling?
There is no universal answer to this question, since every teenager is different. That said, your teen is welcome to pursue therapy in the short term or long term—we are here for their needs and will move at whatever pace is right for them. Ultimately, we want to help your teenager build lifetime skills so that they do not need therapy years down the road.
It’s Time To Invest In Your Teenager’s Emotional Wellbeing
If you want to see your teenager start thriving again, we believe that we can provide the support, education, and relief that they’ve been looking for. To learn more about our approach to teen counseling, call (248) 529-6383 or use the contact form to book your initial session.
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