Teen/Adolescent Counseling in Carmel, Indiana

Who can benefit from Teen/Adolescent Counseling?

Journey to Joy Counseling provides Teen/Adolescent Counseling in Carmel, IN.  We love being a part of downtown Carmel and the surrounding community. It is important to us that we provide the best-individualized care and treatment to those teens and families who entrust us with their care.  We strive to provide professional and compassionate teen/adolescent counseling in Carmel, IN and to the surrounding suburbs of Indianapolis.

You may be wondering what kind of teenagers and adolescents can benefit from counseling.  It’s true that ANY teen and adolescent can benefit from teen/adolescent counseling! Teen/adolescent counseling can help a teenager dealing with bullying and self-harm behaviors.  It can help a tween girl who is experiencing depression for the first time. It can help a teenage boy who is struggling with a tough break-up. Counseling can help a teen who comes from divorce and is struggling with family issues.  All of this to say, teen/adolescent counseling can help any tween or teen who is struggling with the unique challenges kids face today.

We often get asked how teen/adolescent counseling can help.  Our answer is that we understand and empathize with the difficulties this generation is facing.  From social media to societal and family pressures, to perfectionism, depression, and anxiety–and everything in between!  We feel most teens/adolescents at some point can benefit from the support and processing that therapy provides.

One of the most important aspects of teen/adolescent therapy is the therapeutic relationship between the teen/adolescent and the therapist.  We strive to be kind, compassionate, genuine, and caring people in our work with our teenage clients. You can trust that we will always have your child’s best interest at heart.  It’s important to us that both you and your teen/adolescent feel comfortable at Journey to Joy the moment you walk in the door.

What is Teen/Adolescent Counseling?

Teen/adolescent counseling is offered at Journey to Joy Counseling to address the following topics: Bullying, perfectionism, peer pressure, relationship issues, anxiety, depression, self-harm behaviors and cutting, drug/alcohol abuse and addiction, shame, boundary setting, codependency, life stage transitions and change, anger management, ADHD, spirituality, grief and loss, family of origin issues, abandonment, body image and self-esteem problems, college prep and transition, break-up recovery, trauma, relationship problems, stress management, and peer relationship issues.  This list is not complete, but rather to show you the variety of issues we enjoy working with teens/adolescents on.

It’s important to us that we involve parents in their teen’s therapy to the extent that the teen/adolescent are comfortable so that they are able to be supportive.  We want to respect our teens/adolescent’s privacy while also providing feedback to their families on how they can best encourage them while they are in therapy.

Why should you start Teen/Adolescent Counseling?

Teen/adolescent therapy allows tweens and teens to process tough situations, feelings, and behaviors in a safe and supportive environment.  We encourage them to explore challenging memories, identify and set personal goals for growth, help see and alleviate unhealthy patterns of behavior, better understand themselves and others, and work towards bettering themselves and their lives.

Teen/adolescent counseling creates an opportunity for tweens and teens to process the issues that are impacting them.  They can process and explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a non-judgmental, supportive environment. Teen/adolescent therapy can help teens view their behaviors and choices through a different lens so they can challenge themselves to grow and make positive life choices.  

When should you start Teen/Adolescent Counseling?

Sometimes teens come to individual therapy when there has been a crisis or a breaking point.  Others come when they feel like are heading down a path that isn’t getting better. Teen/adolescent counseling can be helpful when something big has happened in a teen’s life, but also just to provide support and encouragement when they appear to be struggling.  Counseling can be beneficial just to have the listening ear of someone removed from the situation and isn’t a family member or friend. Teen/adolescent therapy can help tweens and teens process, develop insight, and gain awareness into their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

How can Teen/Adolescent Counseling help?

You may be wondering how teen/adolescent therapy works, and how to get started?  The first session is called an initial assessment and is a get to know you session.  During the first session, we will gather information and ask questions about what brought your teen/adolescent to counseling.  This is an important first step in figuring out how we can best help your teen/adolescent. At Journey to Joy, we know and recognize the importance of building a relationship with your teen and earning their trust.  To read more about the initial assessment, click here.

Some of the questions we may ask are: “What’s been going on lately?”, “How have you been feeling recently?”, “How long has this been going on?”.  Together we will set goals for what therapy may look like moving forward for your teen. We always appreciate parents contributing to this as well.  

Your teen’s therapist may assign homework to help them reflect on what brought them to counseling and what they would like to accomplish.  We want them to take ownership of their therapy and feel like they have some say.  After the first initial meeting, we will work to help you understand your teen/adolescent’s needs, desires, and roadblocks for change.  We will discuss the best steps for moving forward with a positive change in their life.

Together we will identify problem-solving skills and also teach them coping mechanisms to use and to implement.  We will examine unhealthy patterns of behavior that are holding them back from reaching their full potential. It’s important to us that we help your teen/adolescent develop strategies to help them accomplish your goals.  Your therapist will also help provide support, guidance, and accountability along the way. We help work towards changing maladaptive behaviors into better decision-making, as well as provide consistent support as they work to make healthier choices on their journey.

We believe that teen/adolescent counseling takes an investment from now only our client but from their families. Teen/adolescent counseling requires active participation from the tween/teen and their families.  Your teen may be asked to do homework outside of the session. We may request that they work on improving such things as setting appropriate boundaries, journaling, sharing feelings with others, and initiating tough conversations.  While these things are not required, they will help your teen/adolescent grow and learn to take the reigns of their life.

Often what you think your teen/adolescent is coming to therapy for may only be a small part of what is actually going on.  Or maybe you don’t know what is wrong but you know they are acting differently.  Your teen’s therapist is trained to look for and identify other causes of behavior changes, mood changes, and changes in demeanor.  It’s important for your child’s therapist to bring to light some of the underlying issues and work to address them with your child and you as the parent.  

It’s extremely rewarding to see our teen/adolescent clients make huge steps and progress in their lives.  We love what we do, and we love working with teens!  When a teen client can learn to set boundaries, learn coping mechanisms to combat depression symptoms, work through self-esteem issues, or decrease self-harm behaviors, it is an amazing thing to witness.  We truly want your teen/adolescent to be the healthiest person they can be.

Teen/ adolescent therapy is most beneficial when your child can come consistently.  We know that counseling is a big time commitment, but we think your child’s well-being is completely worth it.  We ask that you allow your child to remain in therapy until your therapist feels comfortable with decreasing the frequency of sessions.  

It may take a while for you to see progress in your teen/adolescent.  Sometimes it takes teens longer to build rapport with their therapist, and sometimes it can take therapists longer to dig into deeper issues with teens.  Please trust the process, and know that we truly believe your child is worth the time.