Why Teen Counseling in Salt Lake City, UT Can Be Helpful For Your Teen
A teen's job is to discover who they are and what is valuable to them. As adults, we are focused on more concrete things like: Are they keeping their room clean? Doing their homework? Graduating high school? Getting a job or going to college? While many teens are moving toward that goal, they can’t help but be consumed by seeking out an understanding of themselves and others through experiences with the world beyond their homes. This drive can explain the choice to hang out with friends instead of prioritizing getting an excellent grade in a class.
Challenges of Adolescence
Adolescence is a time of self-discovery and learning how to manage time and priorities. However, to discover these things, trial and error are needed, and it can often seem to adults that they are moving backward instead of forward.
Teenagers are also primed to seek a feeling of competence and confidence in their capabilities. This need to “do it on my own” can result in your teen talking to you less, resisting your advice, avoiding family outings, or spending valuable time together. When distance grows and priorities for friends over responsibilities happen, all adults naturally begin to feel concerned.
The Role Of Teen Counseling
Teen counseling is a great way for teens to regain a balance between self-discovery and mastery of responsibilities. When teens can sort out their understanding of themselves and others and learn to manage confusing and overwhelming feelings, they will be more able to focus on responsibilities. Some life experiences teens go through can be more complex than they are mature enough to handle independently. Harmful behaviors begin to arise when those experiences are not resolved and understood.
Teens often avoid difficult emotions by avoiding thinking about them. This can result in feelings of anxiety or depression if the challenges are not resolved. A teen is either an Externalizer or an Internalizer of emotions. Too much of one way can be harmful. Externalizers show their pain through anger, arguments, disregard of boundaries and rules in the home, or reckless behavior that is hurtful to themselves or others.
Internalizers do not show their pain. They hold emotions in, isolate them, and limit their interactions with them. This can look like always being happy or minimizing their experiences. Even perfectionism or hyper-focusing on activities that help them avoid feelings.
Empowering Teens With Counseling
At Shade Tree Family Counseling, our team of teen therapists can teach teens how to manage their painful emotions. Helping them gain an understanding of themselves and others after a difficult experience.
Patterns of avoidance over time result in behaviors that you may identify as depression or anxiety. These emotions are symptoms that tell you something is going on that your teen does not have the skills yet to resolve on their own. Teen counseling can teach your teen the skills to navigate difficult emotions and challenging conversations with people they love. Best of all, teen therapists can help teens develop a deeper understanding of the values and principles they want to live their life by.
Teen counseling is a time for your teen to step away from the gaze of their peers and family. To safely evaluate how they want to move forward. Without the fear of disappointing others or feeling others' expectations of them.
Providing your teen with the time to slow down and reflect on how their feelings and actions align with their values can be so successful that it becomes a skill for life. That may be the best lesson of all that you provide your teen.
Find Support For Your Teen With Teen Counseling in Salt Lake City, UT
If you're seeing your teen struggle with self-discovery, emotional management, or prioritizing responsibilities, it may be time to consider teen counseling. Our counseling sessions at Shade Tree Family Counseling provide a safe space for your teen to navigate complex emotions, learn coping strategies, and develop vital life skills. Take the first step towards empowering your teen by scheduling a counseling session and giving them the support they need to thrive. Follow these three simple steps to get started:
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see if Teen Counseling is right for your child
Begin meeting with a skilled and caring teen therapist
Start seeing your teen feel empowered!
Other Services Offered at Shade Tree Family Counseling
At Shade Tree Family Counseling, we want to provide support for the whole family. So in addition to helping your teen with their anxiety, depression, and more in teen counseling, our team offers EMDR-Trauma Therapy for those struggling to overcome past trauma and want to begin healing, and Teen Group Therapy for teens looking for extra support from those their own age. For more about teen counseling check out our blog!