A space of your own
Teenage Counseling in Philadelphia
The stress feels endless
There’s pressure to be popular, cool, smart, pretty, and the list goes on. You have to fight to stay on top of what’s trending on Tik Tok, and yet it just leads to the land of comparisons and judgments. Anxiety is building. You feel awkward and stuck. Your choices don’t always add up because it’s hard to know what you really want.
All this not knowing is taking a toll.
Sleep can be too much at times, not enough at others. Maybe you’ve had a panic attack for no apparent reason.
You wonder why no one truly gets how hard this is, but you also tell your parents, and yourself, that you don’t need therapy.
What’s the big deal? Doesn’t everyone feel like this? Despite the tough ‘out there in the world you', there is an ‘inside here you’ that’s curious about what it would be like to have someone who you can be real with.
Self confidence doesn’t have to be so mysterious.
Tap into your true voice
You are in-it right now. Having someone to talk to allows you to pause and really hear yourself.
You can let go of caring so much about what others’ think and make room for your feelings. When you are okay with yourself, you can be okay with others. Relationships can breathe. You can breathe. Things can slow down in time for feelings to be felt and for decisions to be made that align with your actual desires. Life can make sense again.
Being a psychologist allows me to hear what you say in a way that is different from your friends and family. I will listen attentively and point out the things that strike me as important to YOU. Therapy is not about what you should and should not do. Instead, it is about allowing yourself the time and space to figure things out.
Together we can explore what you want, need, love, hate, fear. Together we can ask the RIGHT questions, like, What college, career, girlfriend/boyfriend, friend group do you actually want to have?
Teenage & young adult years are times when you desperately want freedom, and also need to know that others have your back. In therapy we undue the stuff that gets in the way— the harsh self-talk, ‘judgey’ cultural or peer messages, and shoulds.
Your life can look & feel the way you want it to, not the way it’s ‘supposed’ to.
Teenage Counseling & Therapy for Young Adults can help you…
Become your own person while remaining connected
Choose relationships that feel good and are good for you
Cope with the inevitable emotional-pains of life
Make decisions that are aligned with what’s most important to you
Frequently asked questions about teenage counseling
FAQs
-
That depends. Usually people come to therapy feeling pretty scared. This anxiety is useful because research show us that when people are feeling distress they get way more out of therapy compared to those who feel good from the start. You’ve come to the right place. I help you to open-up overtime so that we can make lasting change. My entire job is to help people talk about themselves in a safe and supportive environment. My clients tell me I’m easy to talk to. An open mind is all you need to bring with you to therapy. With this ingredient, therapy has the potential to transform your life.
-
Stress is like an outfit that we all wear differently. Some people lean towards anxiety and some people lean toward depression (and some people lean in other directions).
Anxiety and depression are not the same but they have a lot in common. They both have messages to share with us. However you experience stress, we will figure out the meaning behind it and how to cope with it more effectively.
-
In the first session you, me and your parent(s) get very clear about their involvement. Therapy works best when you have the privacy to say what’s on your mind. When sensitive stuff comes up, you and I will have an honest conversation about what is absolutely necessary for your parents to know, what you can really handle on your own, and what changes may need to be made in order to keep certain information confidential.
-
As you know, raising a teenager brings many gray areas to the forefront. The reality is that many teens are able to handle big things on their own, as long as they are being reasonably safe. Your teen doing things on their own is generally a good thing, as young adulthood is right around the corner, and we want them to learn how to take care of themselves. If there is little danger, but nonetheless a big developmental milestone is occurring, I encourage your teen to talk to you about it.
There are times though, when serious issues come up.
-If something serious/risky/dangerous comes up, you will know.
-If something is going on that is not serious yet, I will rigorously assess for safety while working with your teen on safer ways of handling the situation.
I am upfront with your teen. If your teen and I cannot solve the problem and there is a big concern, I speak directly with the teen and loop parents in immediately.
Areas of Expertise
Social anxiety, perfectionism
Depression, indecision, lack of motivation & self-injury
ADHD & school problems
Selecting a college & adjusting to college