Teen Counseling In Gloucester, VA

Perhaps, you want somebody for your teenager to talk to as they’ve stopped coming to you or every conversation ends in an argument. You know they are going to their friends for advice, and maybe you don’t trust their friends to help them make the best decisions. Maybe something happened and you want to help them work towards healing but don’t know how to help them. You just want to help your teen and know if they don't get help, it could lead to many wrong decisions or a prolonged period of unhappiness.

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In teen counseling, your teenager will have another adult they can go to and learn better ways of managing their emotions (yay, goodbye intense mood swings!), healthier ways to communicate (wait, no more yelling?) and learning how to solve their problems. They will have a place to explore healthy friendships, learn better decision making, and a safe place to heal from the intensity that is middle and high school. 

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What your teen will learn in therapy will help set a stable foundation for adulthood and their future lives and happiness. 

Teens Present Their Feelings In Two Common Ways: Teen Anxiety & Teenage Depression, We Help With Both

Are you noticing your teenager sleeping more, lashing out more, or in general being far more moody and withdrawn? Teens often present with teenage anxiety or depression which can wreck havoc in their relationships with their families, friends, lead to poor choices, struggles with school and chores, and a black cloud that seems to linger wherever they are. Teens even begin using substances during this time.

At WTHC, we help teens cope with their experiences and learn how to manage their mental state so these conditions don’t have to be forever or continue to impact them in their critical years. 

If your teen has two to three of these symptoms, your child most likely has either teen anxiety or teen depression.

Teen Anxiety Symptoms: 

• Struggling to attend once enjoyable activities or begin new activities

• Seeming irritated very easily, especially at change 

• Staying home more or avoids leaving home

• Can’t seem to control their worry or stress

• Always seeming on edge or restless

• Struggling with sleep (falling asleep, staying asleep, etc.) 

• Many worries, fears, or “what-ifs” 

• Complaints about headaches, stomachs, or nausea

• Difficulty concentration, remembering things, or paying attention

• Never seems to relax

Teen Depression Symptoms:

• Complaining about sleep-possibly struggling to fall asleep or sleeping a lot more

• Feelings of not being good enough and nothing will ever change

• Always seeming tired despite sleeping a lot 

• Eating a lot less or a lot more

• Always wearing long sleeve or covering up (possibly self-harming to get through the pain) 

• Very critical or negative thinking, rarely happy or pleased by life

• Showing very little emotion or joy 

• Staying in their room or away from family and wanting to be left alone

• Dropping out of previously enjoyed activities 

• Complaints about headaches, stomachs, or nausea

• Difficulty concentration, remembering things, or paying attention 

• Not taking care of themselves or their hygiene (not showering, wearing clean clothes or doing laundry, brushing their teeth, or fixing their hair)

• Bouts of crying

Do I Go To Therapy With My Teen Or Is It Just You Two?

Great question. Here at WTHC we do a blended approach of individual sessions and family. 

As a parent, you want to get along with your teenager, not have every argument end in a screaming match, have them follow the household chores and rules, and to listen to more than just their father.

We believe in a mix of family and individual sessions to best meet the needs of teenagers having a safe space and families working together to overcome life’s challenges. 

Family sessions will help give both you and your teen your ideal relationship  communication skills that work, and ways to work towards both of you being happy in your relationship not only in teenage years but also into adulthood when they leave your home. 

Individual sessions will give the teen time to reflect on their actions and lives and to challenge some of the things that they are working through and working on. 

Our balance is a mixture based on the needs of you and your teenager and what you both feel is best. 

Can I Come If I Have Issues To Discuss?

Absolutely! Therapy is much more effective when both you and your teen are working on change. Parenting is stressful and you as a parent deserve a place to vent about how frustratingly and impossibly hard it can seem to raise a teenager and how to work towards a happier, healthier way of living with your teenager.

Does My Teen Need A Formal Diagnosis For You To Help Them?

No, they don’t. If you are worried about a formal diagnosis being on their record, you may not want to run it through insurance and instead pay cash. This can also help keep insurance from requesting your teenagers records, limiting your teenagers amount of sessions, or additional headache and hassle. 

Additionally, if we are not paneled with your insurance, you may for a superbill to submit to them for reimbursement which will still allow us greater freedom.

How Long Does Teen Counseling Typically Last?

Some families find that they come for one problem (such as cutting or school anxiety), resolve that problem, and therapy is done. 

Others find they want their teenager to have that safe space to talk about the challenges of being a teenager (especially in today’s world of social media, peer pressure, and drug availability) and don’t know when their teen might not need that space. 

Rest assured, every few months we will keep evaluating your progress towards your goals, what you want to change, what you want to keep working on, on and if you feel like you and your teen are ready to graduate from therapy. Therapy doesn’t necessarily have an end date—it's all about your progress and what you want for your teenager. 

Do You Offer Teletherapy Or A Remote Option?

We do! If you are worried about the time to get your teen to therapy or trying to balance it in your busy schedule, have no fear. Our teens enjoy online therapy as much as in-person and find it incredibly convenient in their chaotic lives.

How Can We Get Started?

To get started, you can call WTHC at 757-296-8794 or email us at wthc@willowtreehealingcenter.org

We would love to hear any more questions you have or any other ways to help you and your family feel comfortable in starting this process towards a happier, healthier family.