It can be hard work to be a teenager. Teens face many pressures, including a heavy academic workload; balancing school, sports and activities, a social life, and family expectations; and deciding who and what they want to be in this world. Taking a look at just the social lives of teenagers, they may experience peer pressure, bullying, constantly changing friend groups, and first love.
This unique time of life comes with a lot of fun and an equal, if not outweighing, amount of stress. Teens are also trying to define themselves as individuals apart from their families. While they may want to obey their parents, they may actively disobey as they wrestle with the tension involved with developing their own identity.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. –Ephesians 6:1-4, NIV
It can be hard work to parent a teen as well. Parents may feel exasperated and unsure of how to support rather than exasperate their children. Teen therapy at Wylie Christian Counseling in Texas can help teens not only survive but thrive.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 333-6163
Counseling for teens bears a few names. Counseling may also be referred to as therapy and teens may also be called teenagers or adolescents. Any combination of terms will refer to the same end goal: offering your teen mental health support as they move through a unique life stage and/or a tough time and equipping them with skills for life success.
You may be familiar with what talk therapy looks like with adults, or with play therapy for children. Counseling for teens involves a therapist specially trained in how to address the needs of someone who is no longer a child and not yet an adult. Adolescent therapists may work with individuals from 10 to 19 years old or with those enrolled in middle school through high school.
Most teens can benefit from therapy whether or not they’re in crisis. At Wylie Christian Counseling, we help teens understand the underlying reasons for their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors and gives them tools to make positive changes that can help them feel better and function more productively. Counseling helps teens work through whatever issues they face and empowers them to find solutions to the issues they may face in the future.
Counseling may help teens develop greater self-confidence and self-esteem while also improving their overall mood. Therapy sessions at Wylie Christian Counseling can help teens learn important skills such as emotional regulation, how to communicate effectively, empathy for others, self-awareness, and assertiveness. Counseling will certainly be beneficial for teens experiencing issues such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other more serious mental health concerns.
Parenting an adolescent can be drastically different from parenting a young child. It requires change and flexibility on the part of parents, who may struggle with developing an age-appropriate parenting style different from what had been effective in parenting their younger child. Parents of teenagers commonly ask themselves whether their teenager’s behavior is typical or problematic. For their part, adolescents often question their parents’ beliefs and rules and cry statements such as, “All my friends are doing it.”
Although it is expected for adolescents to push back on boundaries and experience growing pains as they develop their sense of self, it can be challenging for parents to identify what falls outside of that range of typical development. One place to start could be therapy for you as the parent(s) or family therapy in which the whole family may participate. Even a few therapy sessions at Wylie Christian Counseling in Wylie, Texas could make a difference to your interactions with one another.
During your first session at Wylie Christian Counseling, your therapist will likely ask for your participation alongside your teen to hear from both of you about what brought your teen to counseling. You will then work together to establish goals for your teen’s time in therapy, which will help everyone measure progress and track results. Your teen’s particular issues will be considered as your therapist suggests how long therapy may take, anywhere from a few sessions to a few months to a longer duration. How long it takes your teen to progress depends on why he or she is in therapy.
It’s also helpful to note that there are different types of counseling available for teens. One approach or a combination of approaches may be helpful, depending on your teen’s needs. Some common approaches include:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is used most often with teens experiencing anxiety, depression, or trauma. A CBT-trained therapist will work with your teen to identify harmful thought patterns and replace them with positive ones.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is often used for those who self-harm, have suicidal ideation, and/or teens with borderline personality disorder. This approach will help your teen take responsibility for and find healthier ways of coping with conflict and intense emotions.
Family therapy involves one or more family members, typically parents and siblings and sometimes grandparents or other extended family members, to improve the family’s communication styles and support for one another.
Group therapy sees multiple teens meeting together and led by a therapist to improve social skills and help teens learn how others cope with life issues.
Other things you should expect in counseling for teens include the following:
Your teen’s therapist will ask them to talk about their feelings to learn to handle them more effectively. Talking about good feelings can help someone tune in to the good things in life. Talking about problems can help your teen find solutions to current problems and avoid future problematic situations. Therapists will ask questions to guide your teen in seeing the connections between feelings, thoughts, choices, and actions.
Your teen’s therapist will also be an effective teacher, especially teaching your teen important lessons about emotions, coping skills, and developing inner strengths such as courage and confidence. The therapist will equip your teenager with skills like turning off negative self-talk and turning on positive self-talk, calm breathing, and mindfulness. Further, your teen will be expected to practice these skills between sessions and report on their results.
The relationship between your teen and her therapist must include trust and a good rapport. If your teen feels uncomfortable with their therapist, you may need to find someone else. However, the therapeutic process itself may be uncomfortable as your teen works to root out deep issues and bring them into the light. If your teen expresses discomfort, you’ll need to discern whether that’s with the therapist or the challenging work of therapy.
Also, confidentiality is essential to trust. You may be curious about what your teen discusses in therapy, but it’s up to your teen to choose how much they would like to disclose; their therapist must also maintain their privacy. Go ahead and ask, and be respectful if you get a less than thorough response. The therapist will address any safety concerns that arise, and you and authorities will be notified if there is any concern about abuse, harm to self or others, or suicide.
Counseling for teenagers in Wylie, Texas can include anything your teen wants to discuss, from how to handle a relational issue to school challenges or learning to communicate more effectively. It may also include more significant mental health issues. This is just a partial list of some of the topics covered in counseling for teenagers:
- Abuse – verbal, emotional, physical, and/or sexual
- ADHD
- Anger
- Anxiety and/or depression
- Autism
- Behavioral problems
- Bullying and/or peer pressure
- Coping with a health condition
- Discrimination
- Eating disorders and/or body image
- Family relationships
- Grief
- Loneliness or relationship problems
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- School issues and/or learning challenges
- Self-esteem or self-worth
- Sleep problems
- Shame
- Stress
- Substance abuse
- Trauma
If your teen is having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
Despite unfortunate societal stigma, going to therapy doesn’t mean your teen is crazy. To the contrary, it means that he or she is willing to take proactive steps to learn how to handle the significant stresses of life. Therapists treat mental health concerns much like a doctor treats a physical concern. If your teen sustained a physical injury while playing sports, you wouldn’t hesitate to get him or her appropriate medical care. If your teen needs help talking through mental or emotional challenges and learning skills to handle those challenges, therapy is a good approach.
Anyone, teens included, can encounter mental health issues when their actions, feelings, thoughts or a combination thereof become problematic. Of course, it’s completely normal to occasionally have times of stress or negative thought patterns. When those stresses or thoughts lead to unhealthy behaviors, a therapist can help.
Your teen may be more or less receptive to your suggestion of entering therapy. As you broach the conversation, be open to listen however he or she responds initially. Begin by calmly stating what you’ve seen, including signs of anxiety or withdrawal for example, and ask how your teen would feel about seeing a therapist for support. Explain that a counselor will give him or her a safe space to talk through whatever he or she is facing and provide healthy coping skills to handle his or her concerns.
Ideally, your teen should be involved in choosing a therapist even if you initiate the process. You can start by asking for referrals from a doctor or trusted friends. You can show your teen a website with pictures and descriptions about the therapists and their specialties. Then you can allow your teen to choose one or more counselors with whom they would be willing to have an initial consultation. It’s essential that your teen feel comfortable with his or her therapist, so the more choice you offer the more you will empower your teen. It’s also a good idea to speak to the counselor or office staff in advance of your first session to ask how you can be prepared. For example, depending on your teen’s needs a counselor may want to see report cards or healthcare records.
Teenagers are moving through a stage of life in which they have to answer important questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? What is my purpose? They are learning how to be unique individuals, which may or may not align with your values. Some amount of questioning and rebellion is normal, although that probably won’t feel good to you as a parent. The more adults you can enlist to support your child in healthy ways, including adults who share your religious beliefs and values, the stronger the team will be pointing your teen to hope and peace with God.
The professional counselors at Wylie Christian Counseling will address your teen’s heart, mind, soul, and body, and help him or her understand how greater health in one area will affect the others. It will combine insights from both psychology and the Bible to empower your teen to resolve his or her issues and live with self-respect, giving thanks to God.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 333-6163