Teenagers are walking the critical path between childhood and adulthood.
This is the time for them:
- To separate from the parents and stay connected to them and protected by them.
- To test the limits whishing at the same time that they will be holding on, as nothing is more frightening that the absence of limits, i.e.: How to lean on a not-strong-enough parent?
- To go through all the autonomy phases and sometimes in the same day: dependence, counter-dependence, independence, interdependence.
- To manage the major hormonal turmoil with the mood and body changes as well as the overwhelming experiences of love and sex.
So many new things and changes, it’s understandable to be lost!
For you parents this is hard time, swinging between being firm, understanding, providing freedom and security. You are an aircraft carrier from which they take off and sometimes deck-land back on it!
I am here as an adult third party, being a parental figure who understands the dynamics animating the adolescent as well as being firm on security limits and constraints coming with any new freedom. I reassure the adolescent by providing information on the changes at work inside him/her including information on sexuality.
As adults we are in charge of our lives and we take responsibility (response ability) for our thoughts, feelings and actions.
We are of course influenced by our personal and family histories from over several generations, and as adults, we normally are able to make decisions for ourselves and participate to those regarding our entourage.
Therapy primarily means hear the complaints, be empathic to the sufferings that are expressed, understand the dynamics at work, build alliance & trust between us and use my know-how & skills to be a valuable resource for my clients.
Sometimes re-visiting the past is useful to find the origins of a trouble, to look at situations that led to making survival decisions (Since it is like this, I will never ….. again), leaving unfinished situations, undigested and unaccepted feelings and emotions.
Therapy can stop at the behaviors level or go way back to the root causes.
All can be said in therapy. However violent acting outs as well as sex intercourse between client and therapist is prohibited and I enforce these rules.
- Individual sessions for teenagers or adults last for 45mn.