Does your adolescent have trouble dealing with their emotions? Is their behavior sometimes disruptive to your home life? Have they experienced sudden loss or trauma?
As they mature, adolescents develop social skills and emotional intelligence. This awareness helps them to develop into healthy, happy, and successful individuals. But some adolescents have trouble processing their emotions and this often leads to behavior that negatively impacts their school life, home life, and overall well-being.
Effective Forms of Therapy for Adolescents
Therapy offers adolescents a safe space to work through their thoughts and emotions. With the help of a specialized therapist, adolescents can resolve problems, modify behaviors, and make positive and lasting changes.
The following are a few different types of psychotherapy available to adolescents and families. Each offers unique approaches and techniques to bring about positive outcomes. Sometimes a therapist may choose to use just one specific treatment, and other times he or she may find a combination of various treatments is the best approach.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps adolescents to identify harmful thought patterns. Once a teen recognizes that his or her thoughts create their feelings and moods, they can learn to control themselves and their behavior. Research has shown that CBT is highly effective at treating depression and anxiety as well as help individuals, including young adults, deal with traumatic experiences.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT helps adolescents process their inner emotions. ACT provides context and understanding to emotions that can seem overwhelming. This allows teens to work through emotions and move forward.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is great for helping families improve communication so they can resolve issues. Sessions can include the entire family, including adolescents, siblings, parents and grandparents, or just one or two individuals.
Who is Therapy Right for?
At every age, youth can be faced with life’s challenges. The following are some of the events and scenarios that can impact an adolescent's mental health and well-being:
- The death of a loved one
- Bullying
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Domestic violence
- Moving or attending a new school
- Divorce
- Social anxiety
- Depression
- ADHD
- Eating disorders
Therapy is not a quick fix to an adolescent's behavioral or emotional issues. It is instead a thoughtful and comprehensive process that provides adolescents with insights and skills so that they may become masters of their thoughts and feelings. This, in essence, is how adolescents develop into happy, healthy, and successful adults.
If you would like to explore treatment options for your teen, please give our office a call.