Teen Therapy

What Is Teen Therapy?

Teen therapy—also referred to as counseling for teens or teen counseling—is a branch of evidence-based counseling focused on youths between 12 and 17 years of age. Designed to deal with the challenges this group faces, this type of counseling typically relies on what’s called “talk therapy”. Each session lasts about 50 minutes and relies on both open and closed-ended questions to coax information out of your teenager.  Depending on what particular challenge your child is facing, goal-setting techniques and coping strategies may be provided. In the 21st century, teenagers face a lot of stressors and are susceptible to various conditions. Many mental illnesses begin to show up in the adolescent years.

How Can Therapy Help My Adolescent?

It’s important to remember that though teenagers are close to becoming adults, they’re still children. Their brains are not fully formed, and they can struggle to handle mature situations. That’s why a breakup of a relationship that lasted a couple of weeks can be so devastating to them. At the same time, hormones are hyperactively surging in their mind and body. This can lead to feelings of discomfort, loss of control, and other side effects.  When you throw additional stressors into the mix—like COVID-19, a lost relationship, or upcoming exam—that can be enough to put them over the edge.

When your adolescent reaches a point where they can’t handle social, school, or family stress, therapy can help them cope. It gives them the tools necessary to better articulate their feelings and overcome them. Teen counseling also gives them an adult to talk to that won’t judge them or talk down to them about their problems. No matter how your teenager is doing, these types of things can help them. In fact, studies estimate that around 66 percent of teenagers could benefit from talk therapy. While it might be awkward to introduce your child to the idea, attending counseling can give your child a safe way to work through their problems. 

How Do I Know If My Teen Needs Counseling?

Teenagers are known for their surliness and mood swings. But how can you tell what’s normal teenaged angst and what’s a serious problem? Well, it’s not always easy, but as a parent, you’re the best person to make that judgment. If something feels off, trust your gut. We suggest examining your teen’s daily life and ask yourself:

• Are they suddenly performing worse in school?

• Do they have any friends or new friends that I am worried about?

• Are they sleeping a lot less than usual or much more than usual?

• Have they withdrawn from previously enjoyed activities and social environments?

• What’s their general mood like? Do they express feelings of hopelessness?

• Do they share what’s going on in their life?

• Is their irritability making it difficult for your child to function?

• Do they seem stressed out?

• Are they disappearing into their room for long periods or threatening to run away?

• How much time are they spending gaming or on social media?

If any of the answers concern you, talk to one of our therapists. A trained professional can offer guidance on steps you can take to help your child. When in doubt, it’s always best to ask. Often, we find that teenagers in crisis are waiting for someone to toss them a lifeline. So, if you notice any worrisome symptoms, ask yourself if they might gain momentum with some outside support.

What Mental Health Issues Can a Teen Therapist Help With?

Around 50 percent of mental disorders present by 14 and 75 percent of them by 24. Catching these conditions early can make dealing with them easier and can prevent a mental health crisis. While mental health treatment tends to get a bad rap, it’s not what it was 50 or 60 years ago. A counselor experienced with adolescents can help them deal with:

• Depression: More than 11% of adolescents reported experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year. While depression affects people differently, it’s typically displayed as feelings of sadness that impair the ability to live a normal life. Other symptoms include irritability, hopelessness, oversensitivity, and low self-esteem. While counseling cannot cure major depression, it can help teenagers to better cope with it and identify distorted thought processes.

• ADHD: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a condition characterized by impulsivity, distractibility, and poor concentration. As of 2011, it’s been diagnosed in more than 6 million children. Unlike other mental health disorders, this one is often caught and treated early. But, even if your child has a handle on their ADHD, the hormonal changes of puberty can exacerbate the condition. Time and impulsivity management strategies go a long way to helping teenagers cope with ADHD. These items can be provided by a trained counselor.

• Behavioral Issues: School suspensions, curfew violations, and aggressive behavior are often symptoms of deeper problems. While your daughter’s dipping grades may be the main reason you called, our therapists will try to uncover what’s driving the undesirable behavior. Skill deficits, undiagnosed mental health issues, and social problems are some typical causes of acting out in the teenage years.

• Self-Harm: Non-suicidal self-injury—often referred to as cutting, self-injury, or self-harm—may seem unnatural. But some teenagers see self-harm as a coping mechanism. Hurting themselves physically distracts them from emotional pain. Research indicates that the chemicals released after self-injury may calm the brain for a time. While your child may go to great lengths to hide the evidence of self-harm, keep an eye out for excessive scarring and out-of-place sharp objects. Talk therapy can help teens who self-harm better control their thoughts and actions.

• Social Media: Data suggests that the average person checks their phone an average of 150 times a day. Around a third of those checks are thought to be related to social media. Excessive social media use—especially in adolescents—is a mental health problem. The use of social media has been linked to a variety of mental health issues—including almost everything on this list. Our counselors will help your child to better manage and respond to Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook use.

• Video Game and Internet Addiction: Is your teenager spending too much time playing video games? Do they struggle to unplug and compulsively check his or her phone? It might be an internet addiction. Like other addictive substances, things like online shopping or dating sites can activate the pleasure centers of your brain. Over time, this can create a dependency. Some emotional symptoms of this disorder include an inability to keep appointments, no sense of time, agitation, work avoidance, and a tendency to stay online longer than intended. This disorder is often thought to be a symptom of something else but has shown itself susceptible to treatment.

• Family Discord: Are you and your spouse arguing daily? Is your house a mess of tension and bad-faith arguments? While they might seem to shrug these things off, home conflict can have a negative impact on your adolescent’s moods or behaviors. Studies have linked family problems to an increased likelihood of delinquency, depression, and substance abuse. Talking with a teen counselor can empower your teenager to better handle divorce, separation, or unhealthy family dynamics.

• Trauma: A recent study found that 61 percent of teenagers had been exposed to a traumatic event in their lifetime. These items include accidents, physical violence, sexual assault, and severe emotional abuse. As teenagers take their first steps towards adulthood, they become exposed to the wider world. This can increase the likelihood of a life-altering event. Depending on the situation, some teen trauma survivors can develop PTSD. Our counselors are trained to be aware of the adverse events and help a teen process them to a more natural experiential history. EMDR in particular can be useful if there is a past event that the teen just cannot seem to move past.

• Eating Disorders: When it comes to eating asked to think about eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder come to the forefront of most peoples’ minds. Images of a teenage girl bent over a toilet likely come soon after. But did you know that anorexia—which kills around 4 percent of those diagnosed—is one of the deadliest mental health disorders? It’s also surprisingly common. A study by the National Institute of Mental Health found that around 3.8 percent of adolescent girls and 1.5 percent of adolescent boys displayed symptoms of an eating disorder.

• Anxiety: Though all teens worry sometimes, around a quarter of all teenagers display symptoms of an anxiety disorder—of which OCD is one. These behaviors—which can include intense nervousness and panic attacks—can interfere with many aspects of your child’s life including academics and work. While some adolescents require medication, therapy is often seen as the most effective treatment. Treatment methods include exposure therapy, CBT, and DBT.

• Other issues: This list is by no means exhaustive. Everyone’s journey is unique and if you think your teenager could benefit from some outside support, we are only a phone call (or telehealth session!) away.

Teen Counseling FAQs

How Common Are Behavioral/Emotional Issues in Adolescents?

Experts estimate that around 20 percent of adolescents have a diagnosable mental health disorder. In a survey of high school students, 13.8% admitted to seriously contemplating suicide. Another study found that more than 5 percent of American teenagers have a reported substance abuse problem. While these numbers aren’t reassuring—especially as the prevalence of depression is increasing—it’s a sign that you and your child are not alone. There is help out there.

What Does Miracle City Counseling’s Teen Therapy Process Look Like?

Your first appointment will be parent-only. During that time, we’ll have you fill out paperwork, discuss your teenager’s history, gather information on the presenting problem, and work together to lay the foundations of a treatment plan. This consultation will help you better understand our processes and determine if our counseling center is right for you. If you decide to proceed, we’ll schedule your teen for recurring appointments.

After that, your child will be brought in for his or her first meeting with the therapist. This icebreaker session usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour. It allows our therapist to establish a relationship with him or her and sets the stage for a working relationship. Please note, while we will talk about overarching themes, that we will provide a significant manner of privacy to our adolescent clients. This helps them trust us. Parents will be included as the therapist and child deem helpful. This takes different shapes with each case.

Where Do Miracle City Counseling’s Clients Come From?

While most of our clients come from Titusville itself, we’ve also worked with clients from Port St. John, Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, Christmas, Mims, Cocoa, and Viera. 

Which of Your Therapists Provide Teen Counseling?

All of our therapists are qualified to work with adolescents. We suggest reading up on each member of our staff and choosing the one you feel would mesh best with your son or daughter. If you’re unsure, we can provide recommendations via a brief phone consult. 

What Insurances Do You Take?

Because all counselors work with teens, we accept all our listed insurances for it. Please note that your recommended therapist may be determined by your insurance and that coverage varies by plan type. We take the following Florida-based health plans: Cigna, Florida Health Care Plans, Gardiner Scholarship, Humana, Magellan, Parrish Health Network, Health Plans, Inc., Tricare, and United/Optum.

My teenager doesn’t want to go to therapy. What Should I Do? 

We recommend that you tell your teen that he is required to come to one session, but that after that session, he can determine whether or not he would like to return. This is often very effective because by the end of the session, the teen typically feels heard and understood and many of the misconceptions the teen may have had about therapy are dispelled. In most cases, the teen chooses to return to therapy. This is also very effective because it allows the teen to participate in therapy by choice and not because the parents are requiring it. The teen is then more committed to therapy and the change process.

What Information Can Parents Get About Sessions? 

We will always tell the parents, as is required by law, if we believe the teen is a danger to himself or others. However, it is vital that the teen has a safe, private space to work on his/her goals. For therapy to be successful, the teen must be able to talk freely, without feeling like what is shared must be censored for fear of disclosure to parents. Therefore, if we see a teen for individual therapy, we will not disclose information to the parents without the teen's consent unless we believe that the teen is a danger to himself or others. But out of respect for legal, ethical, and relational demands, we will generally be allied with the teen and encourage the teen to share important information with you themselves. With the teen's consent, we will also give the parents periodic updates on the teen's therapeutic progress. We encourage the parents to call us with any questions or concerns throughout treatment.

How Can Parents Help Make Therapy Easier for My Teen? 

Though getting them to therapy is a great first step, it’s not all you can do as a parent. After each session, you should be open to the therapist’s recommendations if he/she has them. While our therapists recognize that outside support can bridge the way between today and a healthier tomorrow, we also recommend that you avoid pressuring your adolescent to talk about their time with the counselor. This time is meant to private and being questioned about it can sour their impression of us or you. A great way to segway after the session is to say, “you don’t have to tell me what went on, but if you ever want to talk, I’m ready to listen.”

Early intervention can get your teen back on track before the same issues that affect them now follow them into college or the real world. At Miracle City Counseling, we understand how the adolescent mind works and will work to restore your teen’s wellbeing and confidence. Contact us to schedule your first visit to our Titusville office. We also offer telehealth services for patients that are not comfortable in our facilities.