Colorado is filled with therapists who specialize in trauma and even a few who focus specifically on teenagers with trauma who need therapy, so how are you to know where to take your kid when they need help? I’m proud to offer safe, sensitive, supportive trauma therapy for teens in the Parker area and I believe we just might be a perfect fit.
Parents bring their teenage children to me when they’re showing signs of Depression or Anxiety (or both!). To the parent, this can sometimes seem like it has come out of nowhere OR it may have been a slow build over time. One day, you wake up and notice your teen hasn’t emerged from their bedroom for 24 hours or perhaps they refuse to take off their earbuds for an entire week. Maybe they’ve become so irritable and mean, you find yourself avoiding conversation with them entirely, just to avoid a confrontation. Perhaps they’re missing school due to upset stomach or anxiety about academics or social situations, or their social life has crumbled and you don’t know how to help them navigate those relationships.
Terrible things happen to teens. From bullying to breakups, car accidents to being called out in class, being a teenager is rough. Sometimes, the brain can’t fully process or make sense of the trauma (no matter how small it may seem to some) and the experience gets stuck, becoming a part of who your teenager is. Their mood and sense of self appear to be constantly influenced by a cloud of something awful.
My approach when working with teens dealing with trauma in therapy is to, first and foremost, support the family to stabilize. You need to feel some sort of connection and hope for your child – I get that – so we start there. You and your teen will learn about their brain and what’s happened to it together and then we’ll use the love you already have for one another to create the foundation for healing.
From there, I use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to identify and address the negative beliefs that exist inside your child as a result of whatever trauma they’ve experienced. We work together to increase self-esteem, improve overall mood, and get relationships back on track!
I also offer a DBT Group for Teens via Google Meet. This group builds Mindfulness strategies, Distress Tolerance skills, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Communication so that your teen (and you!) can speak the same language as you deal with stressors in life as a team.
Wondering what to do if your teen doesn’t want therapy? I’ve got you covered there too.
Because I’m located right next to O’Brien Park in Parker, I have the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors with your teen, getting them moving, enjoying some sunshine, and breaking through resistance to healing along the way. Your kid not an outdoorsy type? No problem, we’ll start with some yoga and mindfulness exercises to set the stage for future sessions. Kid not into yoga? I’m not against a stroll down Mainstreet for some Fro-Yo at Swirls to bribe a little information out of them. And if all else fails, I’ve got board and card games to break the ice and ease into the more difficult topics.
So, what’s next?
You first step would be to check out the rest of my website (maybe info on insurance and fees would be helpful) and get to know me a bit better that way. If your teen is already on board, they can read a bit about me and feel it out some themselves. Then, you can call me and we’ll have a consult over the phone or, if you’re both ready to dive in, you can schedule your child’s intake session with the click of a button below.