The 5 Most Beneficial Forms of Therapy for Teens & Young Adults
Being a teenager is never easy. The body and mind are going through a lot at this time. During these years of growth, there are also other issues that arise. Teenage and young adult years are when a lot of mental health problems come to the surface. There is no shame in this, and finding the right form of therapy is quite important. Whatever your teen or young adult is going through, there are plenty of treatments that can help them thrive. Below are five forms of therapy that can help your teen or young adult.
Psychotherapy/Talk Therapy
Talk therapy and counseling is a good place to start, especially if you don’t know exactly what is going on with your child. When a teen seems sad, overly rebellious, angry, or is just acting strange, you should think about sending them to talk therapy. They might just need someone unbiased to talk to, or as therapy goes along the therapist could recommend another form of therapy or a visit to a psychiatrist. It doesn’t matter what age you are, when you need to talk to someone, psychotherapy can work wonders. It’s a good place to try to find out what is going on with your teenager.
Addiction Therapy
Does your child show signs of addiction? Are they drinking a lot? Smoking a lot of marijuana? They could also show addictive and compulsive behaviors in other ways. Whether they are playing video games too much or are showing the inability to control themselves, addiction therapy can help. If your teen or young adult has become addicted to a substance, you can take them to 12-step group meetings or an addiction treatment center. It all depends on the person, but addiction is very common these days. Stop it before it becomes a bigger problem.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT, is used when someone is showing symptoms of self-harm, suicidal ideations, and forms of emotional dysregulation. Teen DBT treatment can help these young people learn to regulate their emotions, practice mindfulness, and reduce self-harm. DBT is necessary for a lot of teens. Whether they have harmed themselves already or have expressed the desire to harm themselves, DBT can be a significant way to lower these symptoms and mitigate self-harm and intrusive thoughts. DBT is a must for any teen or young adult who is struggling with these things.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT, on the other hand, is cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT aims to change behaviors that are maladaptive. Whether it’s overeating, sleeping too much, staying up too late, doing drugs, having reckless sexual encounters, or another form of behavior that needs to be changed, CBT is a great way to work on these behaviors. CBT is helpful to combat addiction and other forms of compulsive behavior. When it comes to CBT, the behavior doesn’t matter as much as the thought process that leads them there. If your child has trouble regulating behaviors, cognitive behavioral therapy can greatly help.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is another thing that can really help struggling teens and young adults. So often the child’s problems are created in the home. When the family is dysfunctional, the child responds in several ways. Whether the parents are getting a divorce or there is a lot of fighting in the home, family therapy can help your child and everyone else in the family unit. Family therapy is often overlooked. It can be a great way to mediate and come to specific decisions based on the feedback from the therapist.
These five forms of therapy can really help any teen or young adult. During this time of life, things are complicated. Feelings are turned up. It’s confusing and obfuscating to understand yourself at this age. However, there are plenty of forms of therapy that can help you when you need to help your teen.
It can be difficult to know what a young person needs, but if you get started with psychotherapy a good therapist will point you in the right direction. It’s not easy but putting in the effort is essential. When you want your child to have a good life, sending them to therapy can be the first step to real healing.