Adolescent Counselling
This is for you
This is for you, not for your parents. If you’re reading this, I’m glad you’re here. You can also click the “read aloud” button if you don’t feel like reading.
Being a teenager can be one of the most challenging seasons of life. There is a lot of pressure on you from adults, parents, school, and others to be a certain way. Often it’s difficult to find words, or have the conversations some adults seem to be pushing for. And with lots of people, you don’t really feel understood or like they understand.
My suggestion is not to go to therapy if you don’t want to. But if you are open to it, I help teenagers solve their own problems.
Understanding being a teenager
You’ve got this new skill as a teenager that you didn’t have a few years ago. You have the ability to think far deeper than before. To question things about yourself, your life, or your friends & family. The fancy word is Metacognition, which means to “think about thinking”. Being a teenager, from a neuroscience perspective (how the brain works) is like getting a new Ferrari without a drivers licence. And everyone (adults) just expects you to be able to drive like they do.
What many teenagers are lacking is relationships with adults who understand them. Sometimes you meet a teacher, or a coach, or maybe a family member who you feel like you can be yourself around.
But often, it can feel very lonely. You need the space to figure yourself out without someone telling you how to be. And you also need & deserve connection… and that’s central to how I work, which you can read a bit about next…
My approach to Adolescent Counselling
My lived experience as a teenager is very colourful, and I am grateful to remember those years very well. I have two teenage sons who call me “the monk” - mostly because I’m bald (it’s sad but it’s true lol), and also because I sometimes talk about mindfulness or chanting, and I get pretty stoked about nature. I am passionate about helping teenagers and genuinely enjoy communicating with adolescents.
My goal is to understand how you see the world, to discover what it’s like to be you.
Other adults sometimes jump to help fix the problem as they see it, before they have taken the time to understand you.
I can’t fix your problems. But if you can really feel understood and accepted, then we can create an environment where you can fix your problems yourself.
In therapy we set 2 or 3 goals. A good way to find out what your goals are, not anyone else’s goals, is to ask yourself: “If I had a magic wand, and I could change anything about my life, what things would I want to change?”
You might not be sure where to start, and I can help you with that. Lots of young adults get a lot from my Walk and Talk Therapy service in North Vancouver trails. I also have a private, safe space where we can sit and connect.
Book a free 15 - 20 minute consultation. This can be done virtually or in person at the clinic