Perhaps you are considering counseling for your teen or teenager therapy, but you have some concerns…
In recognizing ongoing, disruptive symptoms, you may have sought out a therapist for teens in the past for your teenager, but the treatment plan did not prove effective. Instead of responding positively, your teenager may continue to feel misunderstood by the adults in their lives, including parents, teachers, and mental health professionals. It is painful to watch your child struggle and resort to self-destructive behavior or, in some cases, suicidal ideation, and you may feel as though you are helpless in providing them with relief.
Teens Face Unprecedented Pressures In Today’s World
Every teenager grapples with the changes that take place during adolescence, regardless of if those changes have physical, mental, or emotional manifestations. Because teenagers’ brains are still developing, the frontal cortex—where good judgment skills are established—is not fully formed yet. As a result, teens can often be impulsive or destructive with an inability to make good choices or well-informed decisions.
All teens and adolescents struggle with this physiological shift, but if your child is particularly sensitive, these challenges can be amplified. If, from a young age, your child has been acutely affected by their surroundings, they may face certain setbacks that other kids don’t experience. It is possible that your teen’s sensitivities isolate them and cause them to feel generally misunderstood, especially in the context of teenage counseling services, if treatment has failed in the past.
Our modern era of technology has complicated the lives of teenagers. Social media and cyberbullying present a new dynamic of teenage relationships, fostering an environment where hurtful things can be said without consequence and where there exists play-by-play evidence of potentially harmful or humiliating interactions. A teenager with issues in controlling their impulses may be more likely to post something offensive without fully understanding the consequences. With the advent of social media, teens have a public persona before they can fully comprehend the kind of damage that can be done to themselves and others.
The way we see it at Suffolk DBT, the function of every teenage behavior is a means to find relief from the emotion and confusion experienced during adolescence. With the insight of teenager therapy or teen counseling services, we can provide your teen with the toolbox they need to fully understand their emotions and impulses without acting on them.