Positive Attributes
Counseling & Consulting
Phyllis Ann Crawford, LPC
602-689-5012
Counseling Teens
Is your teen skipping school,
doing poorly or falling behind?
Withdrawing from family
or avoiding friends?
Overwhelmed by any or
all setbacks?
These could be signs that your teen is feeling more stress, anxiety and depression than he or she knows how to deal with.
While many teens goes through some normal difficulties with social life and educational progress during middle school and high school years, some kids are struggling more than they let on.
Others don't know how to gracefully manage their feelings, so they cope with behaviors that make matters worse, or get them into trouble.
Disrespectful attitudes, not listening to authority figures, refusal to accept responsibility, seeming out of control, bullying or getting into fights, stealing, lying, and engaging in risky behaviors -- these are all signs that your teen is struggling with emotions or circumstances that they don't know how to deal with.
Yet, their developmental stage of transition from child to adult compels them to try to handle their distress on their own. It's part of their growing independence, or what is called individuation.
It can be heartbreaking, confusing, and frustrating for parents to see their teen going through difficulties like this. Maybe you have tried more discipline, but that doesn't really change your teen's behavior, except maybe to make them more resentful and angry with you.
Maybe you tried opening lines of communication, but your teen perceived your questions as intrusive or critical.
You might feel like there is nothing else you can do, and yet you desperately hope that isn't true.
If you feel that any of these situations are true for you and your teen, you are not alone.
Surveys suggest that the major concerns for teens are:
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Doing well in school
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Getting along with parents
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Getting along with friends
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Feeling accepted
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Feeling good about about themselves
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Making good decisions about boyfriend / girlfriend relationships
Clearly, most teens want better relationships and a stronger sense of social and academic competence.
They just have so many pressures and not yet enough life experience to handle them with ease.
That's where counseling for teens comes in.
Maybe you didn't have these problems when you were a teen. Or maybe your situation was worse and yet you didn't act out. So it's hard to understand why your teen is sullen, belligerent, or why your every reasonable request is challenged.
Or maybe you teen has been a model child up to now -- good in school, happy and self-disciplined at home. But suddenly there's a shift in attitude or behavior that is as surprising as it is frustrating for you.
Try as you might, you just can't seem to get at the real reason for such a change.
You're hurting for your child's apparent unhappiness, and worried for their future. And feeling at a loss in knowing what to do for them.
I'd like to help.
One of my specialties as a counselor is in helping teens find appropriate ways to express their fears, needs, and opinions.
In counseling, teens can learn to get along with people of all ages without feeling fake. They discover how to accept their own differences along with having more empathy for the differences in others.
Counseling helps teens learn to effectively handle their stress, and get their needs met without pushing buttons.
Most of all, in counseling teens learn how to make good decisions, have healthy relationships, and recover from mistakes without sacrificing good self-esteem.
I have over 18 years of experience working with young adults and
teens. I can help your teen cope with the challenges of teen life and overcome feelings of worry and fear.
We can begin to move in a new direction. Individual and or family counseling is an opportunity for your teen to express their feelings and identify the nature of their concerns.
Helping teens gain maturity, inner strength and the positive skills to succeed is something we're both passionate about.
Let's arrange a time to talk when your teen can attend. We'll all decide together what is needed and where to start. Sound good?
Call or email now.
602-689-5012
Let me help your teen through the difficulties of “Teen Angst”.