Seeking counseling as a teenager
Maybe something huge has happened in your life recently, or you might just feel like nobody understands you quite like it felt that they used to. Sometimes, even your best friends can’t quite get their heads around what you are currently going through, and going to your parents doesn’t have the same sense of safety that it did when you were a kid. If you are looking for an option where you can work through your feelings without the pressure you might get to snap out of it elsewhere, counseling might be a good option for you.
What can counseling do that everyone else can’t?
Sometimes, the support of a good friend is all you need. Your peers likely feel like the most important network you have. That’s a good thing. Having good, close friends is an amazing feeling. Sometimes, though, it’s worth looking for support from somebody who has more specific experience with what you are going through.
While your experience is unique to you, my training and education have provided me the tools to work with you in such a way that my life and experiences are not the focus. This is to say that I am not here to give you advice based on my past or point of view. The way that you have come to where you are is a culmination of what you have lived through, so the only way to get through it is to rely on the skills and resilience that you have already begun to hone. Together, we can work toward goals that you have for yourself instead of trying to find a way to fit into other people’s expectations.
How does this work?
The relationship that you will have with a counselor is different than what you will have with anyone else in your life. Specifically, you owe me nothing in terms of emotional reciprocity. The reason that we are there is to deal with your needs. Especially if it seems like you have a tendency to put the needs of others ahead of your own, this can be a brand new, and sometimes uncomfortable, experience. The truth is, though, that it is an experience that most people need at least a little bit in their lives.