Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that 8% of children and teens in the United States are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. If your teen is experiencing anxiety, working with a therapist can be beneficial for them and for you!
What Does Teen Anxiety Look Like?
Teens are experiencing many changes that can lead to them feeling stressed or anxious. Symptoms of anxiety in teens might include:
- Frequent, Recurrent Fears or Worries
- Difficulty Concentrating
- Feeling More Self-Conscious or Sensitive Than Usual
- Avoiding Previously Enjoyed Activities or New Activities
- Chronic Head or Stomach Pain
- Restlessness or Insomnia
Anxiety in teens can be triggered by many different situations. Our team wrote an article that takes a closer look at teen anxiety and triggers. You can find that article here.
Treating Anxiety In Teens
If you feel your teen is experiencing anxiety, it is important to talk with their healthcare provider, as well as a licensed mental health professional.
Treating anxiety in teens will vary from client to client. Your teen’s counselor will determine the best method of treatment after getting to know your child and learning more about what they are experiencing.
At Garrett Counseling, a few therapy methods we commonly use with teens include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is considered to be highly effective for teens experiencing anxiety. This method of therapy works to change the way teens think about the sources of their anxiety.
- Play Therapy: While some think of play therapy as being primarily for children, our counselors see the benefits for teens regularly. It allows teens the space to express what they’re experiencing in a creative way.
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy: Since the primary focus of DBT is to help regulate emotions and build coping skills, it can be very effective for teens who are experiencing anxiety.
- Motivational Interviewing: Motivational interviewing is especially beneficial for teens who are feeling resistant or hesitant to change.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR): The goal of EMDR is to change the way the brain reprocesses memories, and it has been shown to be very beneficial for teens who are experiencing anxiety.
- Client Centered Play Therapy: With Client Centered Play Therapy, teens are given a safe environment to work through their anxiety and things that may be triggering their anxiety.
- Sandplay Therapy (All counselors at Garrett Counseling are trained at Level Two Sandtray for working with children): Sandtray Therapy is a subset of play therapy that utilizes sandtrays and toy figures as the main tools in communication.
Garrett Counseling is an AutPlay Certified provider. Our team also has extensive ongoing education in the area of ADHD. This speciality has allowed our team to provide extensive assessments of ADHD in children and adults.
Get Started Today
If your teen is experiencing anxiety, and you are looking for a counselor to provide them additional support – Garrett Counseling provides therapy for teens at our locations throughout Alabama. Contact us at (256) 239-5662 to learn more.