Family Therapy for Parenting &/or Co-parenting Needs (ages 14-17)

Teenagers can quietly have complex experiences that they may not always want to share with their parents and sometimes this can either lead to parent-child conflict or more distance in bonding. Post-pandemic, many teenagers have struggled in socially reintegrating back into schools which includes difficulty in re-engaging in normal social interactions with peers without using social media and/or texting.  The other struggle is re-engaging socially with parents at home if the teen has become more invested in screen-time v. family-time.

I offer parenting and/or co-parenting sessions to provide supports to parents in finding a balance in developing skills to communicate effectively with their teens and with the other parent. A range of emotions come up individually in parenting and also mutually shared emotions of frustration may arise when there is struggle in managing teenagers' behaviors and/or mental health needs or when there is a parental conflict around how each parents' parenting style may differ

PARENTING AND COPARENTING YOUTH WITH BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS &/OR ACADEMIC CHALLENGES - THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSISTENT PARENTAL INTERVENTIONS

Behavioral Disorders such as Oppositional Defiance (ODD) require for active involvement from parents using behavior modification interventions which must be facilitated by parents consistently in the home outside of sessions. In order to produce the desired shifts from teenager's non-compliance to compliance of rules and parental expectations active parental/caregiver participation is a must. I have 15 years of experience in providing evidenced-based treatment using multisystemic therapy which is rooted in family theory modalities where the evidence has supported that there is a systemic connection between parental interventions and changed behavior of their teens. The challenge in this approach can be feelings from the parents that they are being more overwhelmed in responsibility or feeling accused for the challenging teen behaviors. This is normal! Similarly, if a teen is struggling with depression or anxiety, parental interventions are still encouraged which may also include the need for adjustments in how communication happens as well as possible reflection of ineffective intergenerational values of parenting.