What is Teenager Therapy?
Teenager therapy is psychological therapy performed by a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, or therapist to treat teenagers with mental health issues and emotional difficulties. The therapy involves personal interaction with the teenager to explore behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that are disturbing them mentally and emotionally, and provide a suitable treatment. Teenager therapy helps a teen to take control of their life and react to challenging circumstances with better coping skills.
Role of Teenager Therapy
Teenager therapy can help manage the following mental health issues and life’s stressors and conflicts:
Mental Health Issues:
- Mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder or depression
- Anxiety disorders, such as phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia (delusions and hallucinations) and schizoaffective disorder (both schizophrenia and a mood disorder)
- Personality disorders, such as dependent personality disorder or borderline personality disorder
- Addictions, such as drug dependence and alcoholism
- Suicidal tendencies
- Eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia
Life’s Stressors and Conflicts:
- Stress or anxiety due to family situations, relationship issues, or school life
- Crucial challenges in life, such as losing a loved one
- Unhealthy responses, such as aggressive behavior or road rage
- Sexual problems arising out of psychological or physical causes
- Sexual or physical abuse
- Witnessing violence
- Medical illnesses
- Irregular sleeping patterns
- Poor academic performance
Types of Teenager Therapy
Teenager therapy involves 3 types: individual, family, and group. In some cases, a therapist may perform a combination of these. The type of therapy employed depends upon the problem the teenager is experiencing.
- Individual therapy: In this therapy, teens will have a one-on-one interaction with their therapist to discuss any problems. Each session may last around 50 minutes. During the session, the therapist may ask questions to identify the teen’s problems and to provide homework for them.
- Family Therapy: In this therapy, the teen, their parents, and any siblings all participate in the session to work on problems that affect the family as a whole in order to create support networks within the family that can help a teenager overcome personal issues.
- Group therapy: This therapy involves different sets of teenagers with similar issues to help each other with managing their own issues. Usually, there will be about 5 members in each group with 1 or 2 leaders. The group leaders will pick topics for discussion and ask appropriate questions to encourage a response. Some group exercises and games help promote improved self-awareness.
During teenager therapy, teens may find it difficult to open up in the initial stages, but the therapist should make them as comfortable as possible in order to express their feelings without hesitation. Interactions with the therapist will remain highly confidential and are bound by the standards of the doctor/patient relationship. In cases of mental illnesses, therapy may be carried out in combination with medicines for an effective outcome.
Benefits of Teenager Therapy
Benefits of teenager therapy include:
- Boosts self-confidence
- Improves behavior
- Reduces mental trauma
- Regulates emotions
- Increases communication
- Develops strong bonds with family
- Improves personality
Summary
All teens experience problems in their adolescence ranging from school issues to mood swings to behavioral problems, but certain issues in teens can rise to a level that warrant help from a professional. Teenager therapy can certainly help to avert minor issues from developing into major ones. Teens who regularly participate in therapy sessions can improve their overall personality and sense of well-being. The therapy evaluates the teenager’s behaviors and thoughts and identifies issues contributing to problems, as well as working towards providing a solution.
