Teen Counseling

14 years-old and up

If your child is under 14 and has had trouble locating a counselor for help, please contact me, and let’s find some support together. I will occasionally work with individuals under the age of 14 on a case-by-case basis.

18 years old+, parents who want to financially support them follow a similar process as those under 18, except that paperwork and scheduling are your adult-child's responsibility. You may reach out to begin the process and gather information, then encourage them to contact me to start scheduling and understanding the paperwork.

Social Anxiety

Depression/Anxiety

Athletes of all levels, both for performance or struggle with mental health and are an athlete.

Suicide/Self-Harm Thoughts/Behaviors

Addiction/Substance Abuse

Life Changes

Treatment Resistant/Hesitant Individuals

We have two options to begin counseling.

Option One is for all parents and me to meet for a full 60 minutes. Your teen's first session will be a separate session 45 minutes in length.

Option Two is the 60 minutes divided in two, the first 30 minutes with just the parent(s) and me and then the second 30 minutes with your teen.

______________________________

Each has pros and cons.

Option One Pros are more in-depth history and treatment planning as well as parenting skill building can typically begin.

Option Two Pros include you and your child feeling heard, and we are all on the same page on the same day.

Parent Consultations are a vital part of your adolescent's therapy, particularly in the beginning phases of counseling.

After the 60-minute initial session, we try to have one 45-minute parent consultation session for every four to six sessions your teen has.

Typically teens are not present for parent consultations. However, we can all meet on a case-by-case basis.

As time progresses, we can identify when consultations are necessary or if we can communicate through secure messages or 30-minute phone consultations. Meetings become when anyone wants to meet rather than at specified intervals at this stage of progress.

Parent Consultations are NOT gossip, lie detection, or a blame or shame session. Instead, parent consultations are for collecting more information from you, providing information from your child's sessions that they have approved, and sharing skills other parents have found helpful based on research.

Your teen's confidentiality and trust are paramount to success in counseling. Therefore, before any parent consultation, I try to meet with your teen to confirm what information is appropriate for me to share, accurate for me to share, and if they want me to communicate a message they have been struggling to share with you.

Your child does NOT have confidentiality privilege with issues regarding safety, suspected abuse of minors or elders, and for any court requests. Therefore, we will notify you during or after our session if safety, abuse, or court is discussed, and the next steps are required.

Most people, when they start, feel either angry, scared, or excited. Possibly a healthy combination of all three!

My role is not to tell you what to talk about. My role is to be present with you and help you find your path to health and wellness.

Regardless of choice, I hope you can trust your instincts and share when you feel ready. Honesty and openness are two things that are always in your control.

Communication is one of the most challenging things we do as humans. However, once we begin, please know that my challenges to you are from a place of caring, not shame.

There are two kinds of judgment: Criticism = shame and blame, and Evaluation = finding growth areas.

My role is to teach you coping skills and how to evaluate yourself without shame and blame so you can become independent in your mental health journey.

My role is also to help facilitate communication with your parents. During our time, we will have parent consultations where you are not present. Before those appointments, I will try to talk with you about what I can share with your parents. You may also let me know things you want to invite them to ask you.

Your trust and confidentiality are pivotal to your progress. However, you do NOT have confidentiality regarding safety, suspected abuse, or in court. We will talk about those limitations if they arise.

For example, you may sometimes need help figuring out how to talk to your parents about ways they can best help you or areas you feel they could improve. We can start the conversation and focus on what we can control.

Before turning 18, we will begin discussing which paperwork will be signed and when. Since I use Simple Practice for my electronic health record, a few clicks and the young adult will sign the Informed Consent and necessary Releases of Information so that nothing changes. While the young adult can consent, we hope to understand that we are all working together and will authorize us to continue operating similarly as before.