ODYSSEYCounseling and Therapy                   Mike Binks, MEd, LPC, CADC 3

A world in flux.

During adolescence, literally everything is changing.  And fast.  Teens are faced with the challenge of coming to an identity that will reflect more of themselves and less of their parents, but the process can be awkward and feel forced.  The adolescent brain, including the portion responsible for logic and reasoning, is still developing and won't reach full maturity until the early twenties.  The body is rapidly changing, hormones are flowing, and emotions can feel larger than life.  Not a child anymore, and adulthood still years away, your teen daughter or son may be taking many more cues from peers to gain a sense of her or his individual identity and place in the world.  Life can feel like boundless opportunity or overwhelming expectation or both, depending on the moment.  It can be marked by unnecessary risk-taking, shrinking into the background, or with structure and encouragement, authentic building of character and self-esteem.

Counseling and therapy can help your adolescent to:

• Improve self-esteem and self-confidence
• Regulate extreme emotions and mood swings 
• Replace self-harm with self-care
• Develop strategies to offset difficulties with focus and attention / ADD or ADHD
• Decrease symptoms of depression or anxiety
• Improve school performance
• Prevent or recover from alcohol and drug use and other unnecessarily risky behaviors
• Create a solid recovery from addictions
• Assertively set appropriate boundaries
• Clarify personal values

Balancing confidentiality with structure and accountability.

When an adolescent comes to therapy, it's essential that he or she feels trust in the therapeutic relationship and our agreement to keep things confidential.  On the other hand, taking accountability for one's actions is also key.

When parents come to the initial session, it's possible to create an environment in which both confidentiality and accountability can coexist.  We can all come to an agreement about what information is important for parents to know and what information is between me and the adolescent.  Then parents can step outside for the rest of the first session while the more personal details are discussed. 

I usually try to schedule occasional family sessions to ensure that everyone is on the same page.  This allows me to check in with parents, not about the personal details of therapy, but about skills and approaches they and their adolescent can use to increase effective communication and collaboration.  The more we're able to talk about communication strategies in the presence of your adolescent, the easier it is to both build trust and encourage accountability.

Questions?

Please call or e-mail with any questions you may have about therapy for your adolescent (or for yourself, if you're the adolescent I'll be seeing!).  We can talk more about the intake process and what therapy might look like over time.

phone (503) 740-0573