Our Approach

Therapy for Adolescents

Adolescence is a season of fast growth. Your child is building an identity, testing independence, and learning to manage bigger emotions and more complex relationships. Therapy can be a steady support through all of it.

Teens come to therapy for all kinds of reasons. Some are working through everyday stressors — friendships, academic pressure, the weight of achievement and expectation, the ordinary ups and downs of growing up. Others are navigating depression, anxiety, disordered eating, questions about identity and sexuality, or family transitions like divorce and blending households. Every one of these is a valid reason to reach out.

Your teen has a say in choosing their therapist

For adolescents twelve and older, we encourage you to let your child have a real voice in who they work with, within reason. This is more than a matter of comfort. Research on the therapeutic relationship is consistent: when a young person trusts their therapist and chooses to be in the room, therapy tends to work better. When they feel forced, or simply don't connect with the person across from them, progress is harder to come by.

Offering teens age-appropriate autonomy is also developmentally healthy. Self-direction is part of how adolescents build confidence and take ownership of their own wellbeing — and that sense of ownership often carries the work forward.

A good place to start is the Psychology Today "Find a Therapist" directory, where you and your teen can browse profiles, compare approaches, and look for someone who feels like a fit before reaching out.

We work with the whole picture — and the whole family

A skilled adolescent therapist doesn't work with your child in isolation. Early on, we meet with parents to understand your family, its history, and what you're hoping for. That context helps us support your teen well, while still protecting the trust at the center of their therapy.

When parents live in separate homes, both homes belong in the process. Each parent is welcome to meet with the therapist separately or together — whatever fits your family. We make a point of including both households, because young people do best when the adults who care for them are part of the same effort.

If you think therapy might help your teen, we'd be glad to talk it through with you.