Teen & Adolescent Therapy

Adolescents cannot always express what is wrong. From a developmental standpoint, they lack the cognitive and emotional maturity to verbalize their inner worlds. One way that they are able to tell their story is through action or reacting to the environment. Sometimes adolescents shut down in an effort to manage their distress.

Common distress indicators in teens and adolescent

• Mood changes – anxiety and depression can manifest as aggression, irritability and sadness.
• Physical complaints – emotional issues often manifest in physical complaints such as headaches and stomach problems
• Behavior changes – teens and adolescents may isolate, seem less interested in usual activities or show increased or decreased activity level.
• Difficulties with concentration – young people in distress may have problems with impulsivity and focusing.
• School refusal – a young person may communicate distress by refusing to attend school.
• Academic decline – a drop in grades may indicate severe emotional distress or learning issues.
• Eating problems – emotional distress often takes the form of refusing to eat, restricting food and/or eating less.
• Sleeping problems – may be a sign of excessive worry, a mood-related problem or health issue and should be evaluated by a professional.
• Separation issues – may indicate distress in the environment or earlier developmental issues.
• Behavior problems – teens and adolescents act out becoming aggressive and oppositional with family members, peers and teachers.
• Substance Abuse – experimentation is normal with teens and adolescents however substance use that interferes with functioning is an indication of poor coping skills and emotional distress.

Getting treatment

Engaging the adolescent in a therapeutic alliance is a challenge but issues that arise can significantly improve with intervention. Teens and adolescents benefit most from early and intense intervention as problems left untreated tend to take hold making it more difficult to treat later. When young people experience severe stress, trauma, parental discord, bullying, loss or transitions they show their anger, fear and sadness through mood and behavior changes. Adults often think that the symptoms will go away but this is not the case as these situations must be processed to help the teen learn more effective ways of coping. The developing adolescent is able to benefit most when encouraged to express their feelings and when the therapist helps the young person develop insight and learn to modify thoughts and behaviors as needed.

Kimberly Seelbrede is an experienced teen and adolescent psychotherapist in New York City.  She has provided therapy for at-risk and higher-functioning teens and adolescents in a variety of settings in Manhattan. She is skilled in the area of understanding and detecting teen and adolescent behavior. She gathers information using a variety of modalities (e.g, behavioral observation, family therapy, diagnostic interviews) and has experience working with ADHD, Asperger’s Disorder, OCD, self esteem, loss, substance use, sexual/identity issues, body image, trauma, sexual abuse, eating disorders, divorce, anxiety, depression, anger, oppositional behaviors, school difficulties, behavioral problems, self-harm issues and social skills deficits. Please contact Kimberly with questions or for more information.