Tweens and Teens

What happens in therapy?

Jane was a young lady who was vibrant growing up- outgoing, dancing, singing, and making friends. Jane’s parents noticed that she started to want to be alone, wasn’t asking to go out with friends on the weekends, and was having trouble getting up in time to go to school.

Even more difficult, was that Jane suddenly was so irritable that she’d yell, scream, and storm out of the room at the drop of a hat. Jane’s parents knew that something had to be going on in her life, and they did ask, but Jane would only tell them bits and pieces.

In therapy, Jane felt the freedom she needed to talk about how her “old” friends had changed, her experiences of being teased and bullied, and about the new stresses of going to high school. Jane’s parents started noticing that she was arguing less, wanting to eat dinner with the family, and beginning to resemble the same vibrant self that her parents knew her to be.

Jack has a story that’s a bit different from Jane’s. Jack’s mom brought him in because she found Marijuana in his bedroom. Mom knew that Jack had a difficult time growing up, a hard time making friends, and a difficult time connecting with the family. Jack’s mom decided it was time for Jack to see someone.

Jack took some time to be open to therapy, at first he wasn’t interested, begged not to go, but given time he found safety. He opened up about his strained relationship with his father, and his desire to have a deeper connection with the people around him. Jack started to realize the reasons he was using Marijuana, partying, and reaching out to connect with certain friends.

Slowly, Jack began to make healthy decisions for himself. He started letting his mom know when he was going to be home, letting her know if he was using, and began to open lines of communication with his mom.