Hopkins Counseling believes that teens require an unique approach to counseling that is different than child therapy.  Believe it or not, at one time I  was a teenager, and while I may have grown up (most of the time) and became a therapist, I can still remember the trials and tribulations of high school and adolescents. I understand that teens are in a very unique place in their life, between establishing their independence and still needing their family.

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Being a teen in today's society is often filled with expectations of social and family pressures while beginning to establish who you are in life. Often our teen years can be filled with depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. Yes I said it, no one is getting the idea because it is written here, suicide is a real concern among teens. How many times have you heard (or possibly said) "it's just high school?" How would it be if a teacher heard "it's only your job" or "it's only your marriage?" For many teens, school is their world so it makes the pressures of school and their peers very real, so real that some days the idea of just getting out of bed to go to class can influence them to freeze up with anxiety. 

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Outside of school home may not be easy. There can often be fights that begin because a teen is trying to pull away inorder to grow up and establish their independence, while the parents are trying to support their child; however, communication becomes faltered and an argument erupts. We work with the families to help them establish communication guidelines which will allow for both teenagers and parents to effectivly  communicate with one another inorder to resolve disagreements in a healthy and productive way. 

 

I strive to help teens create a counseling environment just for them, one which we base sessions around their hobbies, interests, concerns and lives. I  respect that talk therapy may not be everyone’s cup of tea. So I focus on allowing teens to express themselves through art, music, games and physical activities as well as talking. It is most important to me to establish a comfortable, judgment-free, and accepting atmosphere that allows teens to try therapy. 

 

It is your life will you make the choice to change it?