Teens and Counseling

During the school year, my caseload includes a steady stream of teenage girls. (On average, I see around 20 clients a week: 1/3 individual adults, 1/3 couples and 1/3 teenage girls.) I didn't used to like working with this population but in recent years, they've become some of my favorite clients!Adolescent girls are a mystery to most everyone (including themselves) and I'm not saying I'm the teen girl whisperer, but for a variety of reasons, we often seem to be a great therapeutic match.If you have an adolescent living under your roof, you really should consider getting her established with a therapist. You may be one of the few households that never experiences a "crisis of teen girl proportions," but if/when it does, it's great to already have a relationship with a therapist so you don't have to start at ground zero in the therapy process. Perhaps even more importantly, a lot of situations that don't necessarily meet the criteria for "crisis" arise weekly in the teenage world, and it's beneficial to have another adult to be able to connect with your teen in the midst of these tumultuous years.This is 2018. Counseling stigmas are a thing of the past. Gone are the days when only "troubled teens" needed therapy. "Great kids" benefit from therapy, too! Even well-adjusted, high-preforming, friendly teens could benefit from therapeutic support. (You'd be surprised at the level of stress being a "great kid" can bring on an adolescent!) The bottom line is: you're never going to regret providing your teenager with another healthy adult point of connection.

Topics that I regularly address in counseling with my teenage clients:

• Social Anxiety

• School Stress/Anxiety

• Depression

• Communication Skills (communicating with peers and/or parents)

• Managing a Bipolar diagnosis

• Coping with ADHD and learning disabilities

• Gender Identity Issues

• Bullying

• Sexuality topics...many and varied!

• Suicidal thoughts and cutting

• Strained family relationships

• Sexual trauma

• Stress associated with divorce and blended family issues

Here are a few other reasons you may have not considered as to why it's good to get your teen in therapy...particularly with yours truly!

1. I don't know your family. I don't have any loyalties to anyone. I offer a fresh pair of eyes to question long-term patterns of communication, secrets, expectations, etc. And your teen can speak to me freely about her family without fear of offending me or hurting my feelings, or concern that her disdain for MawMaw's cookies will ever make its way around the family rumor mill. (Also...bring me MawMaw's cookies! I'll eat them!)

2. I'm relatable. The window may be closing, but currently I still seem to pass for what the kids refer to as "cool." Even yesterday, I had a new high-school aged client guess that I am 27 years old. (Which is to say, I now have a new favorite client.) It's a great gift to your adolescent to provide a healthy adult voice (that still seems relevant) to help them navigate tough choices, discuss school stress and friendship drama, and begin to figure out who they want to be in the future.

3. I don't have an agenda. What should your student major in at college? I don't care. Should your budding adult attend senior skip day? I don't care. Should your 7th grader go to the dance with Person A or Person B? I DON'T CARE! :) What I DO care very much about is that your teenager is developing the skills necessary to connect with the part of herself that is her own compass, and make decisions that feel solid and good to her, all the way through her being. It's not that I'm disinterested in what's going on. I am simultaneously highly interested in my clients' lives while maintaining a lack of worry or responsibility for their decisions. This is what (most) parents are generally unable to do, but it's a stance that is really helpful for teenagers.Since I don't have an agenda, you'd really be surprised with what all I'll hear from your teenager. Giving your teen a relationship with another healthy adult will never be a bad thing. They may not open up to you at this point, but it's definitely preferable if they can open up to someone. And, what is more, a person who is bound by confidentiality and a code of ethics and principles which will guide responses in a healthy and careful way.

4. I've heard it all before. You can't shock me. Many have tried. Few have succeeded. I won't give examples here, because there are two distinct types of people reading this post: people who don't need examples and people who don't need their minds blown. :) But suffice it to say, I've been counseling for over a decade and it's easy to lose the forest for the trees when it comes to shocking disclosures, but there's always a bigger picture that needs to be addressed carefully. I often help families navigate what just seems and feels like a big deal and what is actually a big deal needing extra attention.

I have offices in Walker, Louisiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I'd love to set up a time after school to discuss how counseling could benefit a teenager that you love! Contact me here to schedule an appointment!

FOOTNOTES/REFERRALS:If you are reading this and you have a teenage boy under your roof, you may be thinking to yourself, "Wow...Allison sounds perfect for my teenage son! Does she see teenage boys or only girls?"To you I say: Maybe. I see adult males all the time. But there's something about teenage male sexuality that I find to be best addressed with a male professional counselor. My FAVORITE referral for male teenagers (and lots of others...he's a great therapist): Joel Gilbert. Joel is an excellent therapist, very easily relatable and very wise.For the record, I do see adult males for individual work. What a difference a frontal lobe makes!If you're reading this and you wonder if I see kids younger than 13, the answer is, "no way!" For kids, I gladly refer to an awesome therapist named Christine Varnado. She does amazing work and kids are obsessed with her!