Let’s face it – it’s tough being a teenager! You often find yourself in this “no longer a child, not yet an adult” place where it’s hard to feel like you fit in! You’re growing up and starting to form your own identity. You’re standing on the edge of all sorts of exciting firsts and changes – drivers’ licenses, maybe your first job, romantic relationships, and high school graduation looming. It’s really a unique and exciting time in your life like none other!
But new changes bring new responsibilities and new concerns. Difficult questions start bouncing inside your mind. Questions like, Who am I? Who do I want to be? What do I think I might want to do with my life? Beyond this, people may start asking you about college plans, potential careers, or future plans for family. Then again, maybe you’re finding it harder to connect with your own family, your parents still treating you like the child you were and not listening to your new emerging sense of identity. To top it all off, as your body changes, you find it’s harder to handle the mood changes that come with increased hormones. You might even find that you’re experiencing depression and anxiety to the point that affects your daily life. As we said before, it is TOUGH being a teenager!
IS COUNSELING FOR ME?
To put it simply, YES! It can be difficult to manage your teenage years alone. Thankfully, you don’t have to. At Heartland Therapy Connection, our therapists are trained and ready to meet your where you are. We understand the unique challenges that come during this stage in life, and we want to listen. Our goal is to create a safe space for you to share your voice and discuss the issues that you need to process.
Using therapy techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectal behavior therapy (DBT) blended with an understanding of the developmental changes in adolescence, we will work with you to help manage the emotional turmoil that can feel so overwhelming. Once you have the coping skills to better manage your thoughts and feelings, we can work on the deeper issues that are driving those emotions.
WHAT WILL COUNSELING DO FOR ME?
We’d love to be able to tell you that therapy can solve all your problems, but that’s not quite how therapy works. Instead, therapy will help give you the tools and coping skills you need to help navigate your life and all its changes. Therapy can help you manage your emotions so that the lows don’t feel so low and the highs last a bit longer each time. Therapy can also help you build the communication skills you need to enjoy better relationships with your friends and even your family. We can even discuss college and career planning so you can start to get a “road map” for your future. It isn’t going to be easy, but it will definitely be worth it!
