Teens
Anxiety & Depression on the rise
Because an untreated anxiety disorder is one of the top predictors of developing depression as an adolescent or young adult, the need for prevention and effective treatment is of paramount importance.
In today’s culture, teens are under extended periods of stress with few breaks. The right amount of stress is motivating and stimulating. Too much can be paralyzing, or turn on our fight-flight-freeze response and lead to a constant state of agitation or hyperarousal. When our nervous system is on high alert, we feel emotionally overwhelmed, panicked, reactive, our thoughts race and our sleep can become dysregulated. A big focus of my work with teens is about building on practical, adaptive coping strategies to help manage intense emotions.
Issues I can help with:
Academic pressure
Anxiety (social, performance, separation)
Body-image and eating issues
Cutting
Depression
Drugs and alcohol use
Generalized anxiety
Grief and loss
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Test anxiety
Perfectionism
Poor sleep patterns
“We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, we heal in relationship.”
According to Family Systems Theory, the family is an emotional unit, when one person changes, the whole family system changes. Consequently, one person is never to blame for a family’s struggles.
In my experience, the more parents and family members can work as a team, the more successful therapy will be.
Another important part of my work with teens includes working with parents, exploring dynamics within the family system, stabilizing reactive patterns, and creating new ways of relating. My goal it to create a home environment where ruptures in relationships can be repaired and all family members can feel safe, seen and secure.
“Jennifer expertly pinpointed the sources of my child's anxiety and helped develop strategies to repair and build more resilience, both individually and within our family system. She carefully explains stressors and her approaches to solutions, which she's developed during decades of clinical experience. Jennifer is warm, welcoming and safe and she has an extraordinarily fine-tuned emotional awareness of people and their needs.”