Teen Counseling

The teenage years can be tumultuous: a season of life filled with pressure, doubt and insecurity. They also can be a rich, meaningful time of growth and self-discovery.

Different from earlier generations, today’s teens occupy a new social sphere shaped by rapidly advancing technology and instant access to just about everything. With the world available to them on their phones, they can communicate, discover, locate and transact like never before.

They can be distracted and worried like never before as well. Beyond the unease induced by social media and an attachment to technology, teens may find themselves dealing with performance expectations; hormonal swings; shifting friends and social ties; family problems; and concerns about climate, costs, political conflict and social injustice – sometimes all at once.

It’s easy to see why more teens are facing mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. At Eunoia Counseling, we understand a teen’s struggle when going through a difficult time. We are here to support teenagers in a safe, caring space where they can open up and work through their feelings and thoughts without judgment.

As trained professionals in teenage therapy and adolescent counseling, we help guide young people as well as their families to a greater sense of wellness, peace and stability.

Therapy for Teens: Telling Figures

Recent statistics reinforce what we continue to recognize: Teen mental health remains under steady and increasing duress.

According to information recently gathered by the American Psychological Association :

Teens were spending an average of 4.8 hours per day on popular social media apps such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

41% of teens with the highest social media use rated their overall mental health as poor or very poor (compared with 23% among those with the lowest use); 10% of the highest-use group also expressed self-harm or suicidal ideation within the preceding 12 months.

A recent United Hospital Fund report further notes an increasing gap between the number of teenagers who report mental-health conditions and the number who receive treatment. For every 20 adolescents reporting symptoms of depression in 2022, only 10 were clinically diagnosed with depression. For every 20 reporting symptoms of anxiety, only nine were clinically diagnosed.

Also in 2022, 6.7 million U.S. adolescents had one or more behavioral health conditions, and the total number of them with those conditions spiked between 2011 and 2021. During that decade, the number of adolescents per 100,000 who had a major depressive episode rose from 8,063 in 2011 to 19,863 in 2021 – an increase of nearly 150%.

Teen Therapist Near Me: Loving Awareness

Whether you are a teen looking for guidance or a parent supporting your adolescent or teen, it’s never too late to seek therapy or counseling for greater mental health.

Some young people might be forthcoming in discussing a mental or emotional challenge. Others may choose to remain silent. Some signs of an internal struggle might include:

If these or related symptoms become apparent, Eunoia Counseling is a caring and trained professional partner in helping teens and adolescents move toward balance, strength and clarity.

Teen Counseling Near Me: Perfectionism

As we’ve worked with different teens, we’ve gained increasing insight into both temporary and chronic mental health conditions that many young people are facing today. We’ve also seen the patterns and factors that can accelerate or contribute to troubled emotions.

In particular, teens today can carry the burden of feeling the need to be perfect. While setting high expectations and wishing to achieve are desirable attributes, an intense need for approval or control can sometimes lurk beneath ambition.

This becomes especially noteworthy within social media’s endless competition and filtered imagery. The drive for perfection can become unhealthy when it turns into a compulsion to gain approval and notice from others. An earnest effort might give way to a great fear of failure and mistakes and a feeling that performance determines self-worth.

Whether focused inward at the self or outward toward others, perfectionism can be highly taxing on mental health, leading to stress, burnout, depression and anxiety.

Teenage therapy and therapy for adolescents at Eunoia Counseling seek truth and transparency, including underlying factors that can block balanced, healthy perspectives. We provide the skills and support for helping teens appreciate and enjoy their authentic selves, their achievements and their relationships with others.

Teen Therapist Near Me: Getting Started

Because their brains remain malleable, teens and adolescents can still develop new thoughts and behaviors more easily than when they are adults. Those seeking stability can help to avoid some of the problematic patterns that might follow a person far into life.

When first engaging therapy for teens or adolescents, some young people might approach their initial sessions with doubt and hesitancy. However, we’ve experienced first-hand how many of them come to appreciate and even look forward to their sessions.

Individual therapy for teens at Eunoia offers a neutral spot to unload, process and problem-solve with a non-family adult. We also are happy to involve parents in the therapeutic process when doing so will benefit the teen and the family.

Eunoia Counseling welcomes and supports teens and adolescents of all backgrounds, including those who identify with the LGBTQIA++ community.

Counseling Near Me: Different Approaches for Different Teens

We help teenagers define their therapy goals and set them as their own personal roadmap. Together, we form the plan that will become the guideline for moving toward the destination they desire.

Depending on what will best apply to the teen’s situation, we may utilize research-based approaches from programs such as:

Where helpful, we might also incorporate reading, writing, worksheets and other exercises for fully embracing new skills.

Therapy for teens at Eunoia offers potentially limitless benefits in aiming to restore mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being. Teens and adolescents who remain dedicated to their counseling can begin to feel and celebrate personal accomplishments such as:

Youth Counseling Near Me: Contact Us Today

We welcome every opportunity to support a young person’s healing, growth and maturity. To further discuss “youth counseling near me,” contact us today at (630) 340-8747 or info@eunoiacounselingnaperville.com.