What Can Parents Expect for Teen Therapy?

This short blog answers your question, “what can parents expect for teen therapy?”. Although these aren’t the only 3 expectations you can be expecting to have, these are some important points! Teen therapy is most successful when all family members are collaborating together.

 

Your teen will learn a lot in counseling. Specifically, they will receive education surrounding their mental health symptoms, behaviors, and more. Where do they come from, and what do they mean? Secondly, your teen will be learning coping strategies for emotional regulating or coping with stressors.

 

Aside from what therapy will be offering your teen, what else can parents expect during this process? Read about our 3 points below, which includes details around: 1) Rapport building. 2) Consistency. 3) How parents play a major role. 

 

Teen therapy in Simi Valley, Ca offers teens a non-judgmental space to talk about difficult things. Make sure to read our blog on the 3 Benefits of Therapy for Teens. 

 

What Can Parents Expect for Teen Therapy?: Rapport building is key to talk about difficult topics

Having the therapist build rapport with your teen is essential. What does this mean exactly, you may be wondering? Well, consider the fact that your teen’s therapist starts off as a complete stranger to them. It’s normal for anyone, of any age really, to feel a little closed off from opening up about intimate details right off the bat.

 

Having rapport means that there is a good level of trust, understanding, and comfort with the therapist. Oftentimes, therapists begin building rapport through talking about your teen’s interests. Maybe they have hobbies, sports, music, games, or other things that they’re excited about. By talking about these positive things, your teen can feel more comfortable opening up about other topics at later times. 

 

While the therapist is eager to help your teen feel safe and comfortable being themselves, they move at your teen’s pace. It also takes time to gather crucial background information about your teen’s family history, social environments, school/extracurriculars, and mental health history.

 

Teen therapy in Simi Valley, CA pairs your teen with a licensed therapist, experienced in working directly with teens for issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, and more! Check out our blog on 5 Steps Parents Can Take to Prevent Teen Suicide.

 

What Can Parents Expect for Teen Therapy?: Consistency with sessions is best to stay on track

Consistency with sessions is best to continue rapport building, continue making progress towards established goals, and continue assessing mental health symptoms. It’s important to discuss expectations for frequency at the time of scheduling with your teen’s therapist. 

 

Starting off with weekly sessions really helps your teen’s therapist hit the ground running. They have routine opportunities to connect with your teen, learn more about them, and help implement coping skills, for example. Especially at the beginning of treatment, having weekly sessions is a great idea. 

 

As time passes with your teen’s therapy journey, they may be able to reduce the frequency of sessions to every other week, or even on a maintenance basis. However, their therapist is skilled at assessing your teen’s needs, and what they will benefit most from. 

 

Having irregular scheduled sessions, or too many cancellations, can negatively alter the course of treatment for your teen. It can be hard for your teen to truly benefit from this service without consistency. Also, a therapist may not be able to hold the spot your teen is needing if there are inconsistencies with scheduling. 

 

Teen therapy in Simi Valley, CA is dedicated to providing your teen with effective coping mechanisms to use in times of distress. Make sure to read our blog on Healthy Parenting Approaches for Teenagers.

 

What Can Parents Expect for Teen Therapy?: Family members play a major role in how effective therapy is

Yes, your teen is in therapy. However, they’re not the only ones needing to be involved in this process! Family members play a major role in how effective therapy is for them. If your teen is working on themselves, but other aspects of the family dynamic do not change, there may be slow progress.

 

It’s crucial for parents to work together with their teen to also identify areas of growth for themselves. In what ways can the family dynamic grow in aspects of communication, understanding, respect for boundaries, and more? Can other family members, such as siblings, also do something to contribute to the process of healing and growing?

 

Our teen therapist in Simi Valley, CA at New Leaf is experienced in working with teens and their families. Our therapists know how important it is to involve everyone in the therapeutic process, to understand everyone’s concerns, goals, and come up with a plan that works for everyone. 

 

We want all family members to feel supported while your teen is in therapy with us. While our main focus is on your teen and supporting them, we also want to check in with parents about other progress being made at home. We provide coping skills for parents, mediate difficult conversations, and recommend tools for parenting that can help.

 

Teen therapy near Moorpark, CA works to ensure all family members are included in the therapeutic process. Maybe your teen doesn’t want therapy, so consider reading this blog on What You Can Do!

 

Consider calling us today for a free consultation on teen therapy, family therapy, or individual counseling in Simi Valley – held in-person!

 

In-person therapy in Simi Valley is ideal for those seeking a separate, safe space from their home. Check out our blog on Online Therapy or In Office Therapy to understand what format is best for you. Another great blog to read is ours on if you need Therapy or Medication to address your issues.

 

By seeking out support, you can begin your journey to feeling relief. You don’t have to go through finding the right level of support alone, either. 

 

Consider calling our therapy group at (805) 774-1506 for a free consultation on how you or a loved one can get started today!

Seek out a validating, safe environment with us today. We will help you get to where you want to be. Our therapists provide trauma therapy, teen therapy, individual adult therapy, LGBTQIA+ therapy, anxiety therapy, depression therapy, family therapy, and more in-office in Simi Valley, CA.