Teen Therapy

Teen therapy that uses visual art, drama, written word, and music helps adolescents to express themselves creatively to figure out who they are.

If your child is struggling, our approach to adolescents in teen therapy can help. We approach therapy with pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults with an expert awareness of the major physical and psychological developmental tasks they face. Change occurs by exploring personality and behavioral problems, using age-appropriate means of self-expression.

We offer art, drama, dance, movement, poetry, spoken word and talk therapy to uniquely meet their needs. Therapy goals are set and agreed upon by parent, teen, and therapist. We aim to give adolescents the privacy they need to trust and share their innermost thoughts and feelings with a therapist; while addressing how to meet expectations from parents and other authorities, like school. We work to create a safe and confidential environment where your child can discover the strengths and solutions to work out their problems.

For teens struggling with expressing their emotions appropriately (sometimes called emotional dysregulation) our team is well-versed in integrating Dialectical Behavioral Therapies (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as well as more traditional CBT interventions to enhance your teen’s ability to identify thoughts, feelings, and actions (behaviors), and put themselves in charge of managing challenges.

The level of parent involvement with teen therapy will be determined on a case-by-case basis. However, we will always let parents know if a teen brings up a safety concern that needs to be addressed.

Reasons to consider teen therapy:

• They requested it!
• Difficulty adjusting to life events, such as a major relocation, divorce, death of a loved one or pet, or major illness.
• A change in behavior, mood, sleep, appetite, or academic functioning.
• Increase in risk-taking or self-destructive behaviors, such as drug and alcohol use, skin cutting, unhealthy relationships.
• Unhealthy relationship to social media & screen time.
• Increase in oppositional behavior or extreme withdrawal or isolating behavior.
• Perfectionism, school stress, test anxiety, bullying, or peer pressure.
• Problems maintaining friendships or interacting socially with peers.
• Witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event, including domestic abuse, sexual assault, car accident, or urban violence.

Creative arts and expressive teen therapy can engage the developing adult mind of teens while also playing with the kid who is still inside.

Creative Arts Therapy FAQS

My teen does not want to come to therapy, can creative arts therapy work?

Creative arts therapy can be more appealing than talk therapy for teens because it offers them creative outlets and doesn’t necessarily require them to “talk about their problems” right away, or in every session. Teens can use the same creative problem solving skills they would use to work on an art project, to solve real life problems. Impulse control, patience, perseverance, and being able to ask for help are all examples of this. If your teen is adamant about not wanting to go to therapy, we don’t recommend forcing them, unless there are serious safety issues involved. But offering the option to get a type of therapy where they will not always have to talk, and where they can make art, or music, may help them be more open to it.

How long does my teen need to be in therapy?

Every teen has their own timeline for treatment. Some problems or issues can resolve quickly with the right support, others may take more time. The imporant thing is to encourage your teen to be consistent with their appointments. To come even when they’re not feeling great, and not skip sessions because they’re not in the mood for it. It’s important to acknowledge that therapy is hard work, and to encourage your teen to stick it out long enough to see some positive results.

How much can you tell me about what goes on in my teen's sessions?

We will always let you know of any safety concern that comes up in your teen’s sessions. Whether it be self-harm, suicidal ideation, sexual assault, or any other disclosure that requires follow up, we will let you know immediately. Beyond that, we usually ask for consent from teens to share information with their parents. This means that if your teen does not want us to share with you, we won’t. However we will always encourage your teen to bring their concerns and issues to you directly themselves, and will help them improve their communication with you if it is lacking. We are also available to parents who want to come in and share updates with us, get tips and support, or just vent.

How can I know you will help keep my teen safe?

Many of the issues that bring teens into therapy are safety issues: drugs, alcohol, self-harm, not following curfews, questionable relationships etc. Safety is always at the forefront of our mind when working with teens. We have many interventions in place to ensure their safety, and we will always let you know if we have serious concerns. The first order of business is to help your teen recognize reckless or risky behavior in their lives and address the root causes of it, learn the skills to take of themselves. If that is something they struggle with, we may contract with them for safety, by having them commit to abstaining from certain behaviors that are harmful, or promise to share with us if they do engage in them. Finally, we are always prepared to refer out to additional support if the therapy alone is not enough to keep them safe.