For the parents

Hey parents, I know it's not easy looking for a adolescent counselor for your child, I've been there. Many times  you will have to try out a few different counselors before you find the right fit, which can be frustrating and discouraging. I will do whatever I can to engage your child in order to build that trust and rapport for a therapeutic relationship to be built. I wish I had a magic wand to wave and make everything all better, but unfortunately they do not hand those out when you graduate.  Sometimes adolescent counseling can be  just a few session and with other clients it can take a while, it really depends on how quickly that trust can be built and the level in which your child can safely be engaged in therapy as well as other factors.  The quickest way for a kid to shut down and never want to see me again is to ask them what they feel is a deeply personal question during the first few sessions. I may briefly touch on it to see how far I may take things or to make them aware that I am aware of things. But I will never dive straight into something that I feel may shut them down right away until I feel that we have established a secure therapeutic relationship and they are in a stable place to process the topic. I know that might be tough to hear because you just want your baby to be happy and their magical self. I want that too for them, but I'm also a realist and I'm not going to sugar-coat things and lead to you believe that I have the magic cure that can make them happy/relieve their anxiety/ boost their self-esteem in just a few weeks. I mean, that may be the case, but in all reality,  teen's are untrusting and it takes a while to build that trust with them. I mean think about middle school/ high school, the drama  and gossip, you never really know who to trust, and that 's your kid's life. I'll be a stranger at first, it's going to take some time but I promise, I want to see your child discover  how magical they really are and how amazing life can  be just as much as you do.