Teen Therapist in Atlanta
A few years ago I treated an 18-year-old and his family, and the kid had a bumper sticker on his car that said it all: "I Hate Everything." How is that for summing up his world view in three words? I understand the anguish a teenager feels. I talk openly and directly about peer pressure, sexual concerns, body image issues, why parents "just don’t understand," and the struggle of trying to fit in yet be their “own” person.
We go back and forth between individual therapy with the teenager and family therapy that includes the parents (as well as siblings and stepparents, at times). [Note: When doing individual and family therapy, the teen and the adults need to understand issues of confidentiality, and this will be carefully explained. I feel a combination of individual and family therapy is the only effective way to achieve lasting change.]
What do adolescents want? To be heard and accepted, and be given freedoms. What do parents want? To be heard and accepted, and be able to set limits. I will help you find the proverbial Middle Ground to help both teens and parents get what they want and need.