Therapy for Adolescents & Parent Coaching

Parenting an adolescent can be a challenge even at the best of times.

Adolescence is a time of change for parents as well as teens.

Is parenting your adolescent taking the joy out of parenting?

Let’s face it, adolescence is a difficult time for everyone. Your child is growing up becoming at times more independent and yet at other times seemingly very dependent on you! This is because your teenager is engaged in finishing up the emotional tasks from childhood as well as preparing to leave the family to start their own life – to become their own person. It can be a time for teens that is exciting and scary with lots of different emotions. This process involves physical and psychological emancipation from one’s family and it can be a very stressful experience for all involved.

When I listen to parents, I hear similar fears and concerns. As we talk, their faces express confusion, loss, sadness, anger, fear and often guilt. What happened? Where has my child gone? What did I do wrong? Their stories are the same whether they have daughters or sons. You may remember your child as happy and confident and now you may only see glimmers of who you knew your child to be.
“We noticed a complete attitude change in our daughter. She really doesn’t seem to even want to be with us.” “We felt our authority slipping away.” “Our son is always blaming others or the situation for his own mistakes. How can we help him accept responsibility for the things he gets into? Nothing is ever ‘his fault’!” “How can we understand our son and how can we control and persuade him to do what we feel is the right thing as we see it?” “I am really afraid. My 14-year-old daughter has always been a bit shy. Now she spends all her time with her friends and they (her friends) influence her greatly. She no longer wants to confide in me or, for that matter, listen to me about anything!” “I wonder why I even bother being a parent.” If you are experiencing these things or feeling this way, you are not alone.

Can we really change the way things are going?

Many families have come my way feeling discouraged believing that they had tried everything. However, they discovered that working with a trained professional introduced them to concepts and ideas that effectively worked. The good news is you no longer need to handle this on your own without help. Wouldn’t it feel hopeful if you could learn proven methods to turn the tide and rebuild your relationship with your son or daughter? Wouldn’t this be a good time to learn more effective ways to improve your relationship and genuinely understand your son or daughter? Change does not have to be difficult you just have to know where to find it.

Adolescence is a time of change and challenges for teens as well as parents. At times, you may feel so disconnected that you start to believe that you hardly know your child anymore. Communication cut-offs and anger have become far too frequent. The desire of your teenager to participate in the family appears to be decreasing and your relationship with your partner may feel strained and filled with the diminishing sense that you two are working as a team. It may seem as if you are worlds apart in your parenting approaches. Your child is growing up way too quickly and your sphere of influence is becoming smaller and smaller.
There is help. I work with parents and teens to create more harmonious relationships wherein parents and teens learn the skills necessary for connection, clear appropriate communications, and acceptance (of your teen not necessarily the behaviors). This may include setting appropriate boundaries and offering choices to get your teen back on the road to success. I can help you improve communication, decrease power struggles, and help you choose the relationship with your teen over being “right.” One of the secrets to doing this is helping your teen to assert more self-control so that you can relax your need to always be the one who is in control. Sound interesting?

It makes a difference!

Therapy is available for teens struggling with eating disorders, negative body image, anxiety including social anxiety and parental conflict. If your family is having way too many negative feelings, angry outbursts or simply avoiding each other, the time to take action is now! Please do not wait to repair your relationships. I am more than happy to talk with you about your specific family situation so you can decide if working together in counseling is a good fit for you. Individual therapy for your teen, yourself, and/or family therapy are available options. Therapy works!