Adolescent Therapy and Treatment

Short and Simple Problem List:
• Depression
• Peer Issues
• Anxiety, Fears and Phobias
• Problems with Bullies, Mean Girls
• School or Sport Challenges
• Relationship awkwardness/pain
• Impulse control problems
• Substance Abuse problems
• Self-Esteem and Confidence issues
• Trauma

Teens have important needs, as adolescence, a stage halfway between childhood and adulthood, has its own unique stresses and challenges. A therapist who has experience with teens, plus respect and understanding of them, has great value to a teen with trauma, peer issues, school or sport challenges, relationship awkwardness, impulse control problems, low self-esteem, or lack of confidence.  

Teens often recognize they need help but sometimes are unable to talk about it. Trauma therapy is an excellent choice in this case: our therapists have found that trauma therapy works better than the traditional “talk therapy,” as talk is not required (though talk is certainly welcome if the teen feels the need.)  Many teens find this a great relief and love the fact that the therapy often does not take long to complete.

Here is a true story of the mysterious nature of trauma: A 17-year-old male was having great difficulty in his studies. He was beginning to feel hopeless and getting into trouble with the law. Both he and his family were very concerned and stressed, as he was an intelligent young man and had very good grades until that time. During the assessment, his trauma therapist asked a few nosy questions, even though the client could refuse to answer if he wished.  Through learning more about the young man's history, the therapist concluded that he had PTSD caused by a horrible accident he had sustained some years earlier.  

In particular, the thought of facing the mountain of homework after the accident was the worst part of the trauma for him, and it continued worsening his feelings about homework in the following years. The memories, feelings of discouragement, and consequent self-judgments of “I don’t think I can handle this” were filling up his short-term memory. All of this mental clutter “buzzed” around at too high a frequency for the “gatekeeper” of  the long-term memory to store them. Thus, his brain’s short-term memory was too full and no longer available for the learning he wanted to accomplish in his classes and that would help him get into college. 

As this was described, suddenly the young man exclaimed, “That makes sense! Let’s get on with the therapy!” Since that time and after trauma therapy (EMDR in this case), this young man has been able to study again and earn good grades. Presently, his family reports he is doing well in college.

If you are a teen tired of having the same problem bothering you for so long, please call one of our specialists today. Think how amazing it could be to truly leave this problem behind you.

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