Does Your Teenager Need Counseling?

One of the lines in a recent movie I saw compared lawyers to counselors (and it was not in a positive light). "They just want your money -- they keep you coming back again and again." While there may be some truth in the statement for some counselors, most do really care about people first. When you are concerned about your teenager it can be more confusing. How do you know if your teenager would benefit from seeing a counselor? Would a few visits fix the issue? How long will the counseling take? How do you know if counseling is working? Here are questions to gauge your teens needs-- you be the judge:

Self-esteem

1.) How does your teenager like themselves? Are they confident? Teenage girls often tell me part of the reason they self-harm is because they don't care about themselves An identity attached to inappropriate or negatives behaviors is a problem to address as quickly as possible. Notice if your teen takes care of their own needs. Hygiene, eating, exercise, and sleeping can be indicators of how they rate themselves. Extremes on either end can point to a deeper self-hatred. Counselors can help identify the source of the hatred and teach your teenager to accept themselves. 

School/Work

2.) How is their school/work going? Are they passing their classes? Are they participating? Are they able to complete the work? Anxiety, trauma, ADHD, depression show up at school and interfere with focus. Sometimes their feelings are so intense they are unable to be successful at school without extra help. Many therapists work with teenagers on attention strategies or ways to lower moods interfering with schoolwork. 

3.) Relationships

What are their relationships like? Conflictual, messy, exclusive, enmeshed? How intense are the family arguments? Have they ever gotten physical? Do they let everyone walk all over them or the opposite, fight with everyone? Maybe your teenager doesn't really have friends, or know how to make friends. Do they handle their technology responsibly (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, text)?  Counselors can work with your teenager to help them grow their ability to communicate and develop appropriate levels of trust. 

For each of the domains above, family involvement can expedite counseling. Duration of counseling is based on several factors 

1. How long has this been an issue? It could potentially take just as long to practice new behaviors. Anything earlier is a bonus. 
2. Is it a good fit with the counselor? Does your teenager like their therapist? If he/she does not, don't waste the time or money.
3. How intense/severe is the issue? The more intense, the longer it may take to address. Counselors and clients start as strangers. 

If you feel like your teenager's therapist is keeping them engaged far longer than is necessary, talk with your teen and the counselor. Often times, weaning sessions is much safer than going cold turkey. Remember improvement may not yet have the roots to stabilize the progress. While teenagers may continue to need check-ins with their counselors, the goal of a good counselor is work themselves out of a job (not keep them coming back indefinitely).

Three School Success Musts

Most parents want to see their teenagers to do well in school, but aren't sure how to help. Teenagers can be resistant to their families and academic world mixing. I remember fighting embarrassment as my mother appeared, in bright red sweats, by my locker to give me my lunch. Adolescence is a challenging stage of life. The harder it is to be a teenager, the harder it is to be a parent.

Talk to the school.
One of the most important ways to help teens in schools, is to connect with the faculty. Research suggests students whose parents communicate with the school regularly, get a better education. While I am sure the faculty does not intentionally slight teens who do not have involved caregivers, it is natural to give more attention to the ones who are more familiar. There is also an accountability factor. An involved parent encourages staff to give their best. Concerned adults involving themselves in the teens academic world gives extra psychological support, which can be the difference between passing or failing a class. Not the legal guardian? As long as the guardian (and teen) don't object, do not be afraid to advocate for the young people in your life. In my experience the schools are happy to better help their students, only remember they manage hundred of students, not just yours.
TIP: Struggling grades? Ask the school counseling office about free tutoring services the schools often provide.

Eat!
There is a growing trend among teenagers to abstain from breakfast, and sometimes lunch too. Parents often don't even notice because as soon as student gets home from school, they start in snacking and eat a big dinner. Skipping breakfast and lunch contributes heavily to problems with focusing and assimilating new information. Their brains don't have enough nutrient support to learn efficiently. Also, deficits in nutrition are being shown to decrease the brain's ability to function. Consuming highly processed sugar and fatty foods will contribute to poor focus. Make sure your teenagers not only are eating but have a healthy start to the day to keep up their energy till the dismissing bell rings.
TIP: Many girls are under the impression that they will lose weight if they hold out eating as long as possible. Make sure they know this is false. If necessary, recruit their doctor in the conversation.

Sleep.
Teenagers are infamous for their poor sleep hygiene. I regularly hear of survival through the day starting early, crashing for a couple hour nap after school, and up late finishing homework and texting friends. Weekends are for sleeping half the day. Being tired negatively affects their ability to problem solve and retain information. During adolescence 8-10 hours of sleep is recommended. Encourage good sleeping habits such as avoiding caffeine late in the day, separating homework and sleep spaces, and scheduling wind-down time between business and sleep. Many of my clients find it helpful to play a relaxing playlist or taking a bath/shower to calm their active minds before saying goodnight.
TIP: Lower the brightness in the evening. Avoid intense lights late in the evening including TV, computer's, and phones. Dim lighting readies the body for sleep.

While we can't do the work for them, there is a much we can do to help make the most of their educational opportunities. Not only are we giving them tools now but we also are setting a foundation for their further endeavors whether at college or in the workforce. Without proper sleep, good nutrition, or social support, a teenager can easily fall through the cracks, silently failing to meet their potential. Be the person to help them achieve.

Calming Your Teens Emotions

Have you ever had those conversations where the other person just wasn't getting you? You both liked each other. You both are smart, intelligent people, and yet there is a verbal chasm between the two of you. Maybe it's because you disagree. Maybe it's because you have different points of view. Maybe you just want them to understand you, and it's not happening. It is easy to give up and walk away, feeling frustrated and alone. With teenagers, these conversations can quickly escalate into yelling, anger, and a fight for control.

The quickest and most effective way to bring down intense emotions during conversation is validation. By contrast, invalidation spikes emotions levels higher. The human race has an intense need to be validated. Validation is giving a person permission to have thoughts and feelings--regardless of what they might be expressing. Some counselors have even defined six different levels of validation, ranging from non-verbal acknowledgment to using the person's history to make sense of their reaction.

How to validate:

1.) Look for the emotion or logic. What are they feeling? What was their thought process?

2.) Be aware of your body language. Make eye contact. Give them your full attention.

3.) Never use 'BUT', as it negates the initial validation. Instead, use 'AND'. "It makes sense why you parked the car there AND I need it moved to clean the driveway."

4.) Use statements like... 

• "That makes sense because...." 
• "It sounds like you are feeling ______"
• "You look really _____."
• "You're thinking....."
• "I would feel that way too."

Validation is NOT...

1.) Agreeing. Notice that the above statements reflect what the other persons is feeling or thinking. This does not imply you agree or disagree but you are giving him/her room to their express himself/herself.
2.) Fixing it. This is particullary difficult for helpers. We want to fix it. There may be a time for fixing it, just remember to validate first. For example, a teenagers is upset because she broke up with her boyfriend. Dad says "Wow. I can tell this is really hard for you; is there something I can do to help?"
3.) Relating. This is an easy mistake. When we try to connect with people, we look through the file of our own experiences to share. Unfortunately, this can get in the way of truly hearing what your teenager is trying to communicate. This may not be the time to share your breakup stories.
4.) Evaluating.  Using terms like 'good' or 'bad' to assess the situation sets you up as a judge. Shows like American Idol are all about evaluating good, bad, or indifferent. Even 'good' judgements interfere with validating. For example "It's good you feel this way" implies it could be bad to feel another way.

In a recent session, I choked on my tea right as my client disclosed using meth "recreationally" last weekend. Regardless of why, my reaction was extremely invalidating. This is absolutely not a behavior I want to validate AND I want to validate her feelings leading up to the decision. Judgement will cut off our relationships. Validation allows her to feel safe and secure enough to continue to discuss with me her feelings, thoughts, and decisions. All feelings and emotions are valid; however, some behaviors should not be validated. Given the chance to express emotion in an accepting environment decreases emotional intensity. Contrarily, invalidation only increase the intensity of the emotion.

For futher information on how to validate, check out these helpful sites:
http://eqi.org/valid.htm#What%20Validation%20Is
http://www.dbtselfhelp.com/html/validation_examples.html

Referee No More

While I was working on my Master’s, I taught preschool. I was with twenty 4 and 5 year olds for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. During those busy days, one of my pet peeves was tattling. It seemed every two seconds, Jacob would come running up to tell me Kelly wasn’t sharing the play dough or some other minor infraction.  Sometimes I just wanted to scream. I didn’t like being the referee. But students and siblings need to be able to trust their authority to bring about justice whenever possible (granted, life is not fair and we cannot always make it so but that is another blog). I needed a way to help them solve their own problems or I would spend a good portion of my day breaking up insignificant spats.

Looking for some ideas online, I came across a technique to promote resolving conflict. I immediately dubbed it the Talking Table Technique. When any two people have a disagreement, they are required to go to the table (any will do), and figure out a resolution. They cannot get up, until it is resolved. If it is over a particular item, I hold on to the item until the two resolve the disagreement. After a solution has formed, the two let me know what has been decided and I enforce what they agreed upon just in case one decides to waffle on the original agreement.

Talking Table Rules

1.) No stone walling (a complete refusal to communicate or resolve the conflict for a long period of time. Give it at least a five minutes).

2.) No abuse, physical or verbal (Name-calling, insults, and hitting in any form are not allowed since they are  counterproductive to healthy debates).

If a rule is broken, the one who broke the rule forfeits their claim in the discussion. Simply put, they lose. It’s a good life lesson for future relationships and conflict.

In the beginning, I had to oversee quite a bit but by the end of the school year, the Talking Table was rarely required. Not because I stopped using it but because the classmates would figure it out before coming to me. Hearing their solutions was gratifying. I was amazed at their creativity. They would use time limits, take turns, collaborate and compromise.  Sometimes, the decision didn’t seem fair but they didn’t seem to mind, so why should I? I watched these small children resolve conflict better than some adults. 

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I realized teenagers also have difficulty resolving conflict. Some have never been taught how to resolve conflict as adults have always sorted it out for them. Many don’t have good examples in their lives as they watch their parents yell, curse, and behave aggressively. Others have parents allowing violence between siblings. “Don’t all siblings do that?” I get asked frequently. As adults, it is our job to give them opportunities to use their words to solve problems. Can the talking table always be used? No. Tattling is too broad a term to use the Talking Table Technique universally. Talk with your kids about types of tattling, when is it unacceptable and when it is mandatory. I’ve broken tattling into 3 types.

3 Types of Tattling

1. Pure tattling: completely unnecessary and useless. “Miss Kristal, Brandon isn’t sharing with Zachary.” Solution: Listen but take no action. Hand it back to tattler. “What are you going to do?”  (When tattling has gotten out of control, a minor consequence for pure tattling such as a chore or timeout curbs the behavior quickly).
2. Conflict tattling: When two or more individuals disagree and want a referee.                                     Solution: Use the talking table.
3. Necessary tattling: True danger is involved, blood, fire, or anything illegal “Mom, Amy is chasing me with a knife.”                                                                                                                                                               Solution: Please take immediate action to make sure everyone is safe.

From birth to death, the human race constantly learns how to fix problems. Using the Talking Table Technique from ages 3-18, sets a foundation missed by many adults. We give them a structured space to have the freedom and creativity to work out their conflicts on their own. What a wonderful gift to give the next generation. If you take the time to follow through and regulate the process, the young people will follow your lead. They will be able to engage in the following:

1.) Ignore the petty

2.) Solve their own conflicts in a constructive manner

3.) Trust you and get help with the big stuff.

Be ready to be amazed. 

Tools for Dad

For many of the girls I work with, Dad is a missing link. In some cases, Dad's have wounded my clients so deeply, it will take years of processing to recover. Some of my clients have never and will never know their biological father. Step-dads, grandpas, uncles, older brothers, teachers may be as close to having a father as they will ever know. But I also get to meet amazing Dads who would do anything to help their teen.

Dad's want a good relationship with their growing daughter but aren't sure how to connect anymore. When girls are little, Daddies can scoop them up and take them to McDonalds, read them a book, or teach them to ride a bike. But when the same little girl hits puberty, a shift happens. Little girl wears makeup, has boyfriends, and enjoy driving. Dads are caught between the crossfire of respecting their daughters changing developmental needs and protecting them from themselves or people who may take advantage of their innocence.

Teenagers continually seek the approval of their fathers. They need to know their fathers respect them, protect them, and are proud of them. Teenagers can be difficult to engage in conversation. "How was your day?" "Fine." "Learn anything in school?" "No.". Monosyllables do not generate meaningful conversation or connection. It can take extra education to facilitate a heart to heart chat with an adolescent. The common questions I get asked by Dads are "How do I connect with my daughter?" and "How do I talk with her?" 

1.) Take time. Life is crazy busy. You probably have other relationships, jobs, and obligations to meet. However, it is not an excuse for skipping daughter or son/dad time, just the two of you. It doesn't have to cost money. Go on a picnic. Find something she/he enjoys: video games, board game, sports. Go for a walk. Cook something. Read. Teach her/him how to change the tire or use a drill. The point is doing it together. Aim for regular meetings weekly to monthly as the schedule allows. Have it be consistent so everyone knows this time is set aside for the two of you. For example, the first Tuesday night of the month is daughter/dad time. Build it into your schedule or before long she/he will be off to college and it will no longer be an option.

2.) Be approachable. Do you blow a gasket if her skirt is too short? Do you comment on her weight or activity level? Do you criticize her/his friends? Do you respect her/him? Yes, there are house rules, expectations, and moral standards but be careful of the shame factor. Teach her/him everyone makes mistakes. She/He is not the mistake. If you want your teenage children to be able to come to you regardless of the situation, make sure they understand you love them no matter what. The most common breakdown I see between father's and their teens is the belief Dad only loves me if I'm skinny, straight A's, good at sports, obey all the rules, etc. Since no one is perfect, this belief leads to sneaky behaviors and poor self-esteem. Lastly, apologize when your wrong-- it doesn't make you weak; it makes you approachable.

If you take time for your growing children and they know you are approachable, you are setting the stage for a beautiful relationship continuing far after they graduate. If you know teenage girls/boys who miss out on dad time for one reason or another, consider stepping in the gap. Teenagers need healthy male role-models. They crave male attention.

For specifics on what to say, check out these tips from a local clinician. She also has a Dad group if you are interested in more coaching. Any specific questions, please feel free to contact me.