Adolescence

Adolescence – it’s worse than you anticipated.

Everyone told you this part of your growth would be challenging: health classes at school, uncomfortable conversations with parents, reflections from older siblings and friends.

Your parents are trying to help in the best way they know how. But it’s not right, it’s not what you need.

Instead of helping, you feel more alone, isolated, or angry.

Your mood seems worse, you’re sad, irritable, or freaked out a lot of the time.

You keep trying different solutions to make things better – more time alone, new friends, new piercings, new clothing, a new diet, drinking and smoking, a tattoo…

But nothing really works for very long.

In the end, you just can’t shake this feeling – much as you wish you could.

As a parent, you know your child is struggling.

You see it in her daily habits: in the lowered energy, the withdrawal, in her sullenness and anger, in the stress, and fear she is manifesting.

She won’t tell you much – not anymore.

Your role has changed from a few years back. Once you were the Manager of her daily activities.

As the parent of an adolescent you are now the Consultant, a ready voice when she is willing to ask for help.

But either she isn’t willing to ask, or the help you can offer isn’t what she needs…

…much as you wish it were.

Acknowledging that your daughter needs some extra support may feel challenging, threatening, or even relieving.

No matter your inclination in this regard, we’ll work with you and your daughter to help her find her way back to herself, and find a way to consult with you once more.

Though identity development is the primary task of adolescence, the chronic influx of images, ideas and pressures from peers, the media and cyberspace makes finding one’s true voice – let alone acting from a place of authenticity – extraordinarily difficult.

Because of this, many girls and young women feel lost and depressed.

Often, a turn to alcohol, drugs, cutting, eating disorders, depression, or anxiety is an attempt to navigate the pain and confusion.

By meeting with your daughter on a weekly basis and bringing you and your spouse into consultation, we will not only help your daughter find effective tools to navigate her adolescence, but we will give you strategies and tools so that you, her parent, can finally offer the kind of support she needs.

Our therapists have the experience and expertise to navigate the difficult terrain of keeping parents informed and involved while also maintaining your daughter’s privacy. You can rebuild or maintain your daughter. To learn more, please call .