Adolescent Issues

Adolescence is a transitional time from childhood to adulthood that marks many physical and psychological changes for the individual. These changes can be both awkward and exhilarating. Adolescence is a time in which self-exploration and identity development take place. Often times adolescents experiment with different ideas, choices, and styles in an attempt to figure out who they are.

Adolescents often experience turmoil on their road to self-exploration. Friends, appearance, and “fitting in” tend to become more important, while family and community become less important. While on their road to figuring out who they are, some adolescents experience emotional and behavioral issues that may lead to declining grades in school, defiant behaviors at school or at home, conflict with others, depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance abuse, and/or eating disorders.

Therapy can provide adolescents a safe, trusting, nonjudgmental, and respectful environment in which they can explore their development and learn what type of individual they wish to be. Therapy can also teach adolescents tools and coping skills to manage their emotions and behaviors as well as ways to think about short and long term consequences of their behaviors, the reasons they are engaging in negative behaviors, and how to make good decisions that will create positive outcomes for themselves and for their future.