Tweens & Teens in Therapy
The practice's work with tweens & teens more often than not, includes the use of creative therapies. Often times, this means allowing the individual to lead the way towards an activity that they need to engage in in order to heal.
For example, in real life therapy the offices for the practice have games, small figurines, fidgets, art supplies and trays with various types of sand. In our virtual platform, we've worked to add many of these same elements, but in a digital format. For example, there are opportunities to work on art activities, shared gaming experiences and sand tray, just to name a few. Having a wide selection of tools to utilize in sessions can be very helpful and allows the individual more autonomy in their choosing of activities & how they wish to spend their session.
The practice would like to add a small note here about autonomy, especially in our work with this population. Overall, we feel that a teen or tween needs to be invested in some way about the idea of coming to therapy. Meaning, as a parent it is vital to speak with your adolescent about why you feel they may benefit from therapy and about any reservations they may have about this process. Does this mean that if your tween or teen isn't completely committed to doing the therapy work, that therapy can't be done? No, absolutely not, but the work does tend to go farther & be more meaningful for the teen or tween if there is some level of investment on their part. Upon our first contact with your family, we will speak with you as the parent, but also have a short phone call with your tween or teen to allow them to interview us and gauge their interest in doing this work with our practice.
Therapy work with any population isn't about forcing the work to be done, this actually can be quite counterproductive and result in a person's resistance to therapy for long periods, if not the rest of their lives. So, as you can see this is an extremely delicate process.
Adolescence is often a time of seeking authenticity & identity. It is also a time for adults to help these individuals navigate the "awkward" that is often a part of this stage of life. Think back to your time as an adolescent & just reflect on what that was like for you for a moment.
Adolescents can sometimes be their own best healers and know best what they need. Other times, a clinician may utilize a more direct approach with a suggested activity planned for the session in order to work out some of the feelings that the client has previously expressed about a given topic. Therapy with teens & tweens, much like other types of therapy, is specific to the individual.
The practice's work with adolescents has included some of the techniques mentioned above, as well as talk therapy. As clinicians, we attempt to build relationships with clients and specifically in our work with tweens & teens we embrace the idea that "My awkward acknowledges and welcomes your awkward".
The practice's work with tweens & teens more often than not, includes the use of creative therapies. Often times, this means allowing the individual to lead the way towards an activity that they need to engage in in order to heal.
For example, in real life therapy the offices for the practice have games, small figurines, fidgets, art supplies and trays with various types of sand. In our virtual platform, we've worked to add many of these same elements, but in a digital format. For example, there are opportunities to work on art activities, shared gaming experiences and sand tray, just to name a few. Having a wide selection of tools to utilize in sessions can be very helpful and allows the individual more autonomy in their choosing of activities & how they wish to spend their session.
The practice would like to add a small note here about autonomy, especially in our work with this population. Overall, we feel that a teen or tween needs to be invested in some way about the idea of coming to therapy. Meaning, as a parent it is vital to speak with your adolescent about why you feel they may benefit from therapy and about any reservations they may have about this process. Does this mean that if your tween or teen isn't completely committed to doing the therapy work, that therapy can't be done? No, absolutely not, but the work does tend to go farther & be more meaningful for the teen or tween if there is some level of investment on their part. Upon our first contact with your family, we will speak with you as the parent, but also have a short phone call with your tween or teen to allow them to interview us and gauge their interest in doing this work with our practice.
Therapy work with any population isn't about forcing the work to be done, this actually can be quite counterproductive and result in a person's resistance to therapy for long periods, if not the rest of their lives. So, as you can see this is an extremely delicate process.
Adolescence is often a time of seeking authenticity & identity. It is also a time for adults to help these individuals navigate the "awkward" that is often a part of this stage of life. Think back to your time as an adolescent & just reflect on what that was like for you for a moment.
Adolescents can sometimes be their own best healers and know best what they need. Other times, a clinician may utilize a more direct approach with a suggested activity planned for the session in order to work out some of the feelings that the client has previously expressed about a given topic. Therapy with teens & tweens, much like other types of therapy, is specific to the individual.
The practice's work with adolescents has included some of the techniques mentioned above, as well as talk therapy. As clinicians, we attempt to build relationships with clients and specifically in our work with tweens & teens we embrace the idea that "My awkward acknowledges and welcomes your awkward".