Youth and Young Adults
Are you in your late teens to early twenties? Are you in that transitional phase between not being a young child anymore but not yet a fully independent adult navigating the world? This can be an exciting yet challenging time as you navigate through various transitions typical of this life stage. This stage is also a time of high stress and a high risk for mental health challenges, such as depression. Rest assured, we are here to support you.
Effective Therapy Approaches for Youth & Young Adults
Therapy provides a safe, non-judgmental, and objective space to discuss both the joys and difficulties of this stage of life. Unlike talking to a parent, friend, or partner, your psychologist can offer support in a warm, non-judgmental, and objective manner.
Therapeutic approaches commonly used with emerging adults include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and more supportive forms of therapy.
Overall Goals of Therapy for Youth & Young Adults
Therapy for youth and young adults aims to create a supportive and empowering environment where individuals can:
- Explore their identity
- Receive support during transitions (e.g., graduating high school, attempting new educational and occupational pursuits, leaving home, becoming involved in new social or intimate relationships)
- Develop skills for emotional regulation
- Enhance relationship and social skills
- Manage mental health challenges effectively
- Set and achieve personal goals with motivation
- Among many other areas of focus.
Enhancing Emotional Awareness and Regulation
There is significant research and evidence that highlights emotion dysregulation as a key component of various mental health challenges. As such, it can be very important to help young adults learn to identify their emotions and increase self-awareness as a first step in helping them adaptively cope with their emotions. This is critical because we know that individuals who cannot effectively manage their emotional responses to everyday events are more likely to experience longer and more severe periods of distress that may evolve into recurrent mental health challenges.
We are here to help make the major transitions in young adulthood feel more manageable and less stressful. Therapy can focus on equipping young adults with the tools and strategies necessary to develop healthy and adaptive emotional regulation skills that can serve them a lifetime.
For information on available services, please contact our office.