Navigating Adolescence
Insights & Practical Tips from a Teen Therapist
Why Your Teen Daughter Struggles with Independence (and What Helps)
As parents, you often expect your kids to grow up through clearly marked developmental milestones. But parenting teenage daughters and supporting their growing independence will quickly teach you that this process doesn’t happen all at once
Teen Motivation in School: 3 Tips That Actually Work
Between distractions, big assignments, and shifting moods, it’s normal for teenagers to feel overwhelmed or unmotivated at times. Busy schedules and the pressure to keep up can leave them (and you!) feeling stressed-out and frustrated.
Staying Close to Your Teen When They Pull Away
Let’s be honest: staying emotionally connected to your teenager can feel tough. One minute you’re chatting about school, and the next they’re in their room with the door closed, headphones on, leaving you wondering what just happened.
Teen Boy Depression: Signs, Causes, and How Parents Can Help
Depression in teenage boys is often harder to spot than you might think. While many people associate depression with visible sadness or withdrawal, teen boys are more likely to express their distress through irritability, anger, or risky behavior.
Friendship Anxiety in Teens: What It Is and How to Help
It’s easy to expect friendships to be the safe haven in a teen’s life. But for many adolescents, relationships with peers can also become a major source of anxiety.
How Does a Fear of Failure Play Into Social Anxiety?
It’s easy to scroll past a meme or TikTok about “social awkwardness” and think, Maybe this is just who I am.
How to Help Teens Overcome Social Anxiety
Even the most outgoing teen can feel nervous walking into a new classroom, speaking up in front of peers, or introducing themselves to someone new.
What Causes Teen Depression? 7 Common Risk Factors
When your teen seems withdrawn, unmotivated, or stuck in a low mood, it’s natural to wonder: What happened? You might try to trace it back to a specific moment or trigger, but teen depression rarely has just one cause.
Tips for Helping when your Teen faces Peer Pressure
Teenagers often have a rebellious reputation. As they near adulthood, they may challenge authority and other norms. At the same time, however, they can be notorious conformists.
How Teen Brains Are Different: What Every Parent Should Know
If your teen seems like a walking contradiction: mature one minute, overwhelmed the next, you’re not alone.
How to Identify and Help With Teen Academic Pressure
If it feels like academic stress has become a full-time job for your teen, you’re not imagining it. Between the rising pressure to take AP classes, maintain perfect GPAs, get into competitive colleges, and “do it all,” many teens feel like there’s no room to breathe.
Are Screens Making Teens Depressed?
If you're a parent of a teen, you've probably asked yourself at some point: Is all this screen time making my kid depressed? With 95% of teens using at least one social media platform, and nearly half reporting they’re online “almost constantly”, it’s no surprise this question is front and center for so many families. But like most things in parenting, the answer isn’t black and white.
Tips For Helping Anxious Teens Who Are Applying For College
College application season has a way of sneaking up on families. Just as your teen is beginning to enjoy a sense of independence, they’re suddenly faced with one of the biggest decisions of their life, while juggling AP classes, extracurriculars, social pressure, and hormonal changes.
Teens and the Pressure of Academic Achievement
For many teens, school isn’t just about learning, it’s about proving yourself. Between grades, college expectations, extracurriculars, and the constant comparisons on social media, it’s easy to feel like you're never doing enough.
Coping with the Pressure to get into a Good College
Contrary to what movies and TV shows might suggest, high school isn’t all school dances and football games. Especially by junior year, a major source of stress for many teens is the pressure to get into a “good college.”
Is CBT an Effective Treatment for Depression?
Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions teens face today. It’s not just occasional sadness; it’s a weight that can make it hard to get out of bed, concentrate in class, connect with friends, or feel hopeful about the future.
Does My Child Have Social Anxiety? 3 Ways You Can Help
As a parent, you're hardwired to protect and guide your child through every stage of their development, from sleepless nights and scraped knees to school projects and emotional meltdowns.
5 Things To Do When Your Teen's Anxiety Turns into School Refusal
If you’ve heard these words on repeat from your teen, or seen the tears, stomachaches, or last-minute meltdowns, you’re not alone. Some school resistance is typical during the teen years. But when those “off days” become persistent refusal, it can feel like things are spiraling
Navigating College Applications: A Guide for Anxious Teens
For many teens (and their parents), the college application process feels like an emotional rollercoaster—equal parts excitement, uncertainty, and pressure. As a former high school counselor, I’ve spent nearly a decade sitting beside students on this ride, helping them navigate the stress of standardized tests, looming deadlines, and life-altering decisions.
7 Essential Sleep Tips Every Teen Needs to Know
Most teens need 8–10 hours of sleep a night, but between late-night homework, after-school activities, TikTok rabbit holes, and buzzing group chats, that goal often feels out of reach.