Therapy with Teens

There’s an important balance that a therapist needs to take with teens. On the one hand, the therapist needs to get it. They need to not be yet another adult for whom the teen needs to explain how TikTok works. On the other hand, the therapist needs to build a strong enough relationship wherein the teen cares about what they have to say and where they are in a position to influence the adolescent in a healthy and teaching moment type of way. 

Teens get a bad wrap. The teenage trope is the image of a kid who is hormonal, emotional, self centered, demanding, and moody. Hormones aside, if a teen is struggling with something, it’s important that they be taken seriously and treated with the same respect as an adult patient. Teens smell bullshit. They need a therapist who speaks teen but also speaks adult. It’s important that there is genuine connection but not a denial that this is treatment and we have some work to do.

Just like with kids, when a teen is in therapy, their family and school are important partners in treatment. Adolescents tend to need even more privacy in their therapy and a true safe space. However, it is still important that there is some semblance of closeness and trust between therapist and parents. There are also instances where family therapy and some active mediation or family treatment is necessary in order to bridge a communications gap.