Your teen appears angry, distant and isn’t performing well in school.
You can recall a time in your daughter’s life that you played together and laughed together; you experienced a real bond with her. As she has matured into being a teenager, you have noticed that she is beginning to struggle in classes, she appears distant and socially withdrawn, you hear about fights she is having with her friends at school, she seems consumed by social media and then she shares that she feels really lonely and depressed.
You are searching for answers to help your teen overcome what appears to be depression. You wonder if teen therapy in Cincinnati, OH may help her re-connect socially and improve academically.
Your teen seems incredibly stressed and worried.
You have fond memories of watching your son play with all of the other kids in the neighborhood. He seemed to have plenty of friends and was so outgoing. As he has matured into being a teenager, you have observed that he stays in his room after school, he seems worried all of the time, he avoids contact with his classmates and he responds angrily when you try to speak with him about it.
You wonder if this persistent fear, worry and avoidance may be anxiety. You believe that teen counseling in Cincinnati, OH may help him cope with this anxiety and anger more effectively.
As a parent or family member, you may feel alone.
As a parent or family member, you wonder what happened. The possibilities race through your head…perhaps something happened at school, maybe a fight with a friend or even bullying. You start to worry if you have done anything to effect this. You are aware that teenagers can develop depression and anxiety symptoms. You might even reach out to other parents to explore if they’ve had similar experiences. You may have even resorted to google to figure out what to do next. Perhaps that has led you to consider teen counseling or teen therapy as an option to support your son or daughter.
We are here to help teens begin to thrive at home and school. We will work to provide families and parents with the necessary skills to support their teens.
Regardless of the age, parenting can be incredibly challenging. It can become increasingly more difficult during the teenage years as they navigate changing social dynamics, academic rigor, new friendships, self doubt, self esteem concerns, conflict with family members and more. At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we specialize in connecting with teenagers who experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. We also collaborate with family members who support these teenagers. We recognize the pain a parent experiences when you feel like you have failed your child. You are not alone. We are here to share that burden, so that teenagers and family members begin to feel some relief.
As a teenager, you wonder if you have depression or anxiety. Perhaps you think that teen counseling can help you navigate your high school experience more effectively.
Let’s face it, being a teenager can be both really exciting but also really difficult. The exciting part is that you may get to experience new romantic relationships, new friendships, a growing sense of independence and freedom, opportunity to make more decisions and choices for yourself and you begin to develop and explore the roadmap that will take you into your young adult years. With all of that opportunity can come significant challenge as well. That may include conflict with your peers or parents, difficulty in school, self doubt, social isolation, self esteem concerns, body image issues, fear of missing out, constant comparison to your peers and dread about the future.
If you have found yourself at this point, you are seriously considering how teen counseling or teen therapy may benefit you in navigating both the opportunity and challenge that you currently face and that lies ahead. At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we strive to develop a relationship with you, identify your struggles and strengths and collaborate with you to develop a plan to help you overcome and thrive.
Common mental health disorders and symptoms in teens
We often talk about mental health as broad concept. We all have our brains therefore we have mental health. However, when it comes to specific mental health disorders, there is a lot of complexity to it. It’s not your job to know each and every disorder that is out there. Not every teenager who wants or needs counseling has a disorder and not every teenager who has a disorder wants or needs counseling.
Some of the more common disorders that we see among teenagers are:
Mood disorders such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder
Anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety, panic disorder and social anxiety disorder
Trauma disorders such as acute stress disorder and PTSD
Eating/body image disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and body dismorphic disorder
Below are symptoms that may indicate that your teenager is experiencing a mental health concern:
Persistent worry
Impaired sleep (trouble getting to sleep and/or staying asleep)
Avoidance of social situations (i.e. school, friends, family gatherings, public places)
Panic attacks
Negative self talk
Social isolation
Self harm
Threats of suicide or harm to others
Difficulty in school
Impaired focus or concentration
Risky behavior
Substance use
If you recognize any of these symptoms or warning signs, consider scheduling an appointment with Launch Point Counseling. We are located in Cincinnati, OH. We will explore parent and family observations, discuss what the teen is hoping to accomplish through counseling and identify how we can help.
Parents—Below are 10 action steps you can taker right now to support your teen.
As parents, we have a desire to be proactive and involved in our kids’ lives. You are here because you want to act and provide your teenager with the proper support and resources. Below are 10 actions you can implement right now, before your teen engages therapy or counseling, to help your teen begin to manage their mental health in a way that empowers them to be resilient and thrive.
Learn to recognize the warning signs that your child’s mental health is at risk.
Collaborate with your child’s school. Many schools are implementing additional mental health resources to address depression and anxiety, in addition to comprehensive suicide prevention programs. Find out what is available and connect your child with the appropriate services.
Provide your child with additional emotional support. This can include spending quality time together, active listening and asking meaningful questions that foster open and honest conversation.
Encourage a healthy lifestyle including adequate sleep, eating healthy and living an active lifestyle that may include exercise and/or playing sports.
Help connect your child with peers and friends. Social isolation and withdrawal are symptoms of depression so consider opportunities that they might find engaging including school activities or clubs, spontaneous get together with friends or attending milestone social events.
Create an environment in which your child can share openly without fear of judgement. Too often teens are scared to open up about what is really going on because they worry that their parents won’t understand, they won’t know what to do, they won’t be taken seriously or they will be dismissed. Ask and listen.
Practice self care. Supporting and caring for someone with who is struggling with their mental health can be challenging. Good self care allows you to be present when you need to be.
Get your family involved. If you are attempting to manage this on your own, seek out the support of your loved ones whether that be your spouse, partner, children or other close family and friends. We can advocate for each other.
Get connected in the community. There are so many resources and organizations out there designed to support care givers. Check out our Affiliated Cincinnati Organizations page.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, consider connecting your teen with professional mental health counseling. This is not your burden to carry alone. We all have mental health and we all deserve relief from the pain that we experience; therapy can have a significant effect. At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we believe that your teen and your family is worthy of this type of support and relief.
“You were the one therapist we found who was a perfect fit and actually made a difference. Please know that her life was better because you were in it.”
As a Cincinnati, OH based mental health counseling practice, Launch Point Counseling provides effective teen counseling services and support for family family members.
Teen counseling can help teens with academic performance, anxiety, depression, family relationships, peer relationships, self esteem, body image, emotional regulation and more…
As a parent or family member of a teen who is suffering, it is important to recognize that this is not your fault. You may feel responsible because that’s what we do as parents, we take responsibility. But mental health disorders come about due to a variety of factors—situational, environmental, biological and more.
As the teenager who may be experiencing depression, anxiety, social isolation, social anxiety, body image concerns, academic concerns, conflict with family or peers, you have the ability to work through and overcome these challenges.
At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we have worked with a variety of teenagers in and around the city. Through a very relaxed, welcoming environment, we strive to build a trusting, supportive relationship with the teen. This relationship, known as the therapeutic relationship, empowers the counselor and the teen to explore the challenges, problems and concerns that seem to be getting in the way of progress and goals. As the relationship evolves, the teen will begin to develop self awareness, identify cognitive and behavioral changes they want to make, and then we will put those changes into action TOGETHER. Teen counseling and teen therapy are very much a partnership between the counselor, the teenager and the family.
There are a variety of different types of counseling but at Launch Point Counseling, we utilize four primary approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Client Centered Therapy, Family Systems Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy. Drawing on these four approaches, we work with the teens to help them develop greater insight, improved self awareness, coping skills, ability to manage and regulate emotion and a belief in oneself that can lead to success. At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we have a team of caring and supportive counselors who have the knowledge and training to treat a wide range of mental health issues that include depression and anxiety.
You are still unsure if teen counseling or teen therapy is a good fit for your teen son or teen daughter.
If you have never experienced counseling before, it is very common to be unsure, nervous or even skeptical. At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we have worked with many teens and their family members who weren’t entirely sure if counseling would be a good fit. Some of the more common questions or concerns we receive are listed below:
My son is completely resistant to teen counseling. We’ve tried it before and he wouldn’t open up.
We are very intentional about how we listen to your son or daughter’s story, build rapport and take time to invest in that relationship. True to our values, we recognize that your son or daughter is coming to teen counseling and teen therapy with some awareness and wisdom about their struggle and their ability to overcome that struggle. If you have tried counseling before and it didn’t seem to work, there may be some benefit to exploring what happened and what was getting in the way.
I’m not sure we can afford teen therapy. I know my daughter will benefit from it but it might be out of our budget.
At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we recognize that paying for counseling for your son or daughter is an investment in their health and wellbeing. We take that very seriously and will explore with you how to create a plan that acknowledges your son or daughter’s reality but also your family’s financial situation so that this does not become a burden. We encourage you to learn more about our fee structure.
We have a lot going on between school, practice and our other kids. We may not have the time to commit to teen counseling.
There are 168 hours in one week, and many of those hours are consumed with work, school, practice, activities, family functions and driving from place to place. It’s hard to fit it all in and you often wonder where the time went. Similar to the financial investment, this is an investment of time. Typically we meet once a week or a couple times per month depending upon the severity and how quickly the teen and family would like to progress. At Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH, we believe in this investment and that your teen is worth it.
My son won’t talk us to about anything. My primary concern is how are you going to include us, the parents, in the teen therapy?
During the first session, we will spend time with both the family and your teen exploring the presenting issues, family and social history, health, academic experience and more. We will also talk about how we will work with both the teen individually and collaboratively with the family. It is our experience that collaboration with the family is imperative to supporting your teen son or daughter and their journey to overcome what may be holding them back. With that said, the collaboration may look different family to family depending upon what is presenting and how we as a team decide to move forward.
You may be interested in our blog posts about teen mental health
We really enjoy working with teens and families, and we are committed to helping teens navigate a wide of range of issues including academic concerns, ADHD, depression, anxiety, conflict with family and friends, divorce, substance use and more. On the mental health blog, we frequently discuss teen mental health issues. Some of the blog posts may interest you and are listed below.
Teen Counseling Series: 5 Ways Parents Can Help Their Teens Develop Resilience and Grit
Teen Counseling Series: 5 Ways for Teens to Manage Conflict More Effectively with Parents
You Can Begin the Teen Counseling Journey in Cincinnati, OH Today
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For the teens: Start living your best life!
Other Services at Launch Point Counseling in Cincinnati, OH
Teen counseling and teen therapy aren’t the only services that we offer at our Cincinnati, OH location. Other mental health services at Launch Point Counseling include anxiety counseling, depression counseling, counseling for young adults and men’s counseling. Teen counseling provides an opportunity to experience insight, discovery and progress. Whether you are the teen or a family member—we will walk this journey with you!