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Adolescent COUNSELLING

 

 

 

 

what is adolescent counselling?

Adolescent counselling is a therapy tailored to 12-18-year-olds that acknowledges the problems of living faced by this age group. Teen counselling supports young people by providing a safe space in which they can unburden themselves.

Being an adolescent has become increasingly difficult.

Young people face huge challenges from social media platforms and a competitive unstable world that overwhelms them with too much stimulus and dis-information.

They experience countless understandable fears and need strong support to address these.

 

What is the best counselling approach ?

A gentle approach is best as that places a safe and warm relationship at its core. One that trusts the teenager’s capacity to grow and to handle challenges. It needs to be collaborative, enjoyable and non-labelling that also includes support for the parents.

 

Teenage behavioural problems

Problem teenage behaviour stems from stress and a fundamental feeling of being unsafe. Physical, emotional, social and cognitive development place huge demands on our adolescents.

 

Is your teen/adolescent acting out?

Adolescents act out or in (aggressive or anxious) to communicate to themselves and their carers the distress they are experiencing within. They might not do well at home, school or work. Self-harming, school refusal, eating disorders, isolation and difficulty regulating their emotions are common teen problems.

What is adolescent development?

It is the gradual movement from childhood dependence to adult autonomy. It involves an increasing ability to self-regulate and make choices with confidence based on a sense of what is good for themselves and those they interact with. Physical, social, emotional and cognitive development are involved.

 

my advice to parents/carers

  • People around an adolescent should try to stay emotionally regulated.
  • Listen without judgement or attempting to fix.
  • Communicate with warmth and acceptance.
  • Make eye contact regularly.
  • Go beyond labels.
  • Try to understand their underlying stress.
  • Use every opportunity to enable them.
  • When they do well, tell them so.
  • Make sure to provide them with opportunities to connect with others at school and peers in the community.

 

So, to conclude this a time in an adolescent life of rapid growth especially of the emotional brain. Thinking is black and white so problem-solving is not yet confident.

Without adult autonomy, teenagers don’t have the capacity or confidence to navigate the world. They’re unclear, inexperienced and scared. They have not yet learned who they are.

 

So if you need professional help with your adolescent child , then, come talk to me, I can help.