Teen Counseling | DBT Therapy Teenage Counseling Services

Suffolk DBT is proud to be a part of the pilot program offering intensive DBT services for teens and their families. Our team of therapists for teens has designed a Skills Group to support families. This new type of group program, called DBT-A, is a 24 week intensive program where parents learn alongside their teens the skills that will allow for more harmony in the home.

In this program, you and your teen will be enrolled in a multi-family group where you can benefit from the experience of parents who are also learning to support their behaviorally challenging or emotionally sensitive teen. You will be guided by two expert DBT specialists, who were, in turn, trained by the developer of this adolescent-specific program.

Every six weeks, the focus of group will rotate through four main DBT skills modules: Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Middle Path, with the DBT skill of Mindfulness woven throughout the program. DBT skills for teens and parents can help you unlock healthier relationships and life skills.

Teens will receive individual therapy from one of their coaches, and the other will be available to parents for extra support throughout the program. Family sessions are also available as an add-on to your current services. Get your free mental health screening today to see if DBT-A is right for you!

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 prefrontal 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. Peer pressure on social media can also cause stress and anxiety for teens.

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.

Our therapists for teens understand that your child is struggling; life is painful, even from a young age. And if your child is particularly sensitive or empathetic, life as a teenager can feel even more difficult and burdensome than it already is at that age.

Our teen counseling experts at Suffolk DBT aim to create a warm, compassionate, and welcoming environment where your teen will be validated and treated as the capable, emotionally intelligent developing person that they are.

As a team, we evaluate the emotional symptoms of each new client and match them with a skilled therapist who will best suit the individual needs of your child. In the first counseling session, your teen’s therapist will perform an intake that addresses the history of your child, as well as the commitment necessary for effective DBT treatment.

In the six months to a year that is recommended for counseling, your teen will undergo individual and group therapy, as well as skills coaching. As a parent, you will also be expected to participate in a multi-family group session where you too will learn the dialectical behavioral skills to help ensure your teenager’s success through treatment. Many DBT success stories are the result of families working together with their therapist to improve relationships and behaviors. Check out these DBT therapy reviews to find out how it worked for other teens and families.

Using a diary card model in between sessions, your child will learn to keep track of events that impacted them during the week, and we will help them to identify what was happening in their mind and body during moments of distress. Over time, they will gain clarity on the triggers that cause dysregulation and have more of an idea as to how they can reduce the disruptive symptoms that occur as a result.

Capitalizing on mindfulness, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance, we will use the four pillars of DBT to help your child to grow a skill set which allows them to be less reactive and more productive. If and when a crisis occurs, they will be able to handle their emotions in a healthy way that does not create harm or disruption in their life or the lives of those around them.

Since 2008, Suffolk DBT has identified, supported, and provided counseling for sensitive teens and adults alike, helping individuals to nurture a healthier and happier relationship with themselves and their surroundings. And we have found that it is possible for teens to be both emotional and functional. The gift of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is that it can allow your teenage child to become not only more aware of themselves but of others, fostering an empowered perspective on life. Suffolk DBT teen counselors offer therapy services near you in Long Island, Manhattan and NYC Locations. There are also options for online therapy for teens in NYC and the surrounding areas. DBT Therapy in Suffolk County, NY can help you or your family work through life’s challenges.