DOES MY TEEN NEED A THERAPIST? You may be wondering how to know if your teen would be helped by seeing an adolescent therapist. Do you recognize your teen in any of the following?
- My teen won’t follow my rules. I end up getting so mad!
- Why does she talk back, argue with everything I ask?
- He just wants to be with his friends, not his family.
- She doesn’t want to see her friends. She doesn’t do anything.
- She keeps telling me how ‘stressed out’ she is. He talks about dying.
- She tells me kids keep gossiping about her at school.
- I don’t approve of his friends.
- I’m afraid he’s having sex. What if she gets pregnant?
- She is having mood swings – happy one minute, then sad or angry.
- She wants to wear too much make up. She thinks she’s fat.
- What if he gets into drugs? His friends all drink and smoke.
Adolescent Therapy and how it works: I talk with the parents, alone, at the first session. I will ask you how you see your child, his problems, her behaviors. I will also ask about your child’s strengths and accomplishments. Information about your relationship with your partner/spouse/adults in the house/step-parents is important, and what solutions to problems you have tried. Your own perception of your parenting abilities and how you were parented are important.The next few sessions will be with the child, alone. When I am with your teen, I will want to know the whole child. As we establish trust, it will be important to know how s/he perceives her school life, peer groups, family pressures. Depending on your child, we can do various art therapy assessments with different topics and art materials, or work in the sand tray. Then I will alternate, or mix sessions up, sometimes seeing the family, sometimes the child, the siblings or only the parents. Children are sometimes eager for their parents to see their art work or sand trays, but at times may prefer to keep them private.
If your teen is older, I may invite your teen into the intake session. Teens often have separation/individuation issues. They need to know they are strong enough to make it when the time comes, yet feel safe enough within their family system They may have low self-esteem, body image issues, or have experienced sexual trauma. Teens are often especially creative. They enjoy the non-verbal aspects of creating art or doing a sand tray. Each teen is unique, and will express him or herself quite differently. They may draw, paint, make masks, mandalas, clay images, or simply choose to talk. There are no judgments.
Call me, Claudia Trevithick at 720-242-9241 for a free initial 20 minute phone consult or just call me to set up an appointment.
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