Trauma Therapy

Is Your Teen Struggling With Trauma?

Have you noticed changes in their mood and behavior?

Are they dealing with intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and nightmares?

Do they seem unusually withdrawn and unsociable?

Maybe your adolescent has been suffering from social anxiety—they’ve become reclusive and spend all their time hidden away

If your child has been through a traumatic experience, they may suffer from frequent mood swings and constant meltdowns. Perhaps they’re engaging in risky or self-destructive behaviors to cope with their trauma, using drugs or alcohol to numb the pain. But no matter how hard they try to bandage their emotional wounds, the pain never goes away. As a result, you may find yourself considering a therapist who treats childhood trauma.

Your Teen May Become Avoidant And Isolated—Making Their Trauma Worse

They might avoid people, places, or activities that remind them of their traumatic experience. Although doing so gives them a sense of temporary relief, it can lead to loneliness and isolation. They might miss out on new social connections and end up getting lost in their own negative thoughts.

Deep down, you probably wish that you could just make your child’s trauma disappear. And while you can’t redo the past, you can undo its effects. Here at Equity Associates, we’ll give your adolescent a safe space to process their emotions, feel heard and understood, and put their traumatic experience in the rearview mirror.

So Many Kids Have Suffered Through An Adverse Childhood Experience

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, about one in three kids and teens has experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE).* These experiences can include abuse, neglect, bullying, illness, and household dysfunction.

Additionally, many teens experience chronic stress due to social factors like poverty, racism, and violence in their communities. Certain family dynamics can be traumatizing, too. If a family member has a substance abuse problem or a serious mental health issue, many teens experience secondhand trauma from witnessing them suffer. All of these experiences can be disheartening for kids, which is why getting support is so crucial.

Most Children And Teens Are Too Young To Fully Process Traumatic Events

After all, there’s a reason so much trauma happens in childhood. A child’s brain isn’t fully developed, so it can’t process tough experiences like an adult’s brain can. Adolescents don’t have the coping skills and life experience to manage traumatic stress on their own.

Thankfully, they don’t have to manage it alone. Therapy gives kids a chance to work with a trustworthy and compassionate adult who knows how to process and resolve the effects of childhood trauma.

Therapy Can Empower Teens To Rewrite Their Stories And Recover From Trauma

Many teens who suffer from trauma are hesitant to seek help because they fear being judged or misunderstood. At Equity Associates, they don’t have to worry about that. We provide a safe and supportive space where teens can think out loud about their struggles without any fear of judgment or criticism. We know how hard it is for teens to live with trauma and we want to validate every aspect of their experience.

We’ll help your teen recognize their own strengths and resources, empowering them to take control of their lives and make positive changes. We’ll also provide healthy communication skills so that they can work through any relationship issues that trauma has caused. The ultimate goal is for them to build resilience and develop the inner strength and confidence to recover from trauma.

What To Expect In Trauma Counseling Sessions

Although we offer individual counseling for adolescents with trauma, we highly recommend our CREW counseling groups. Group therapy is so empowering for teens with childhood trauma. It can help them realize that they’re not alone in their struggles and provide them with a supportive community that is committed to building each other up.

Our practice also offers school-based mental health treatment for teens struggling with trauma. After all, your teenager spends such a significant portion of their time at school. By collaborating with counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals in the school system, your adolescent can access emotional support throughout the school day.

Creating Your Teen’s Trauma Therapy Plan

Through a narrative approach to therapy, we’ll help your teen reframe the story they tell themselves about their life. By exploring different perspectives and ways of interpreting their experiences, they can create a narrative that is positive, enriching, and gives them hope for the future.

Additionally, our practice often uses Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) in our work with teens. This approach helps them challenge negative thought patterns and gives them grounding strategies like deep breathing, meditation, and visualization. It also involves safely and gradually exposing teens to the trauma-related thoughts and memories that they’ve been avoiding. Over time, this can help them overcome the anxiety related to their trauma.

Between our help and your support, we are confident that your teenager can improve their confidence, rewrite their story, and take back control of their life.

You May Have Some Questions And Concerns About Trauma Therapy…

What if my teen won’t talk about their trauma?

We get it—sharing their story can be scary. Thankfully, there is no pressure for your teen to open up right away. They get to control the pace of therapy and decide how much to share and not share. That said, sharing their experience with a compassionate therapist can be liberating. It can help them process their trauma, make sense of what happened, and heal from the pain and hurt it caused them.

My teen is worried that a therapist won’t be able to handle their problems.

We have worked with many, many trauma survivors. Your teen is not alone. Our counselors are skilled and experienced in helping teens work through trauma. For teens who truly feel that no one can help them or relate to them, we encourage them to try group therapy. It’s such an eye-opening opportunity for them to see that other kids are working through the same challenges they are.

My teen is worried about confidentiality.

All of our sessions are confidential. No one else has to know what your teen shares. What’s more, the stigma around mental health treatment has been declining for years now. For most teens nowadays, going to therapy has become the norm. We’re confident that our group sessions will help your teen see that this is the case.

Trauma Doesn’t Have To Hold Your Teen Back From Their Hopes And Dreams

With the help of a compassionate trauma therapist, they can leave their pain in the past and create a more hopeful vision for the future. To get in touch with us, use the contact form or call us at 866-633-4288 to schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation.

* https://mchb.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/mchb/data-research/nsch-ace-databrief.pdf