Art therapy & counseling for teens

Can you tell your teen is in pain, but you can’t identify where it’s coming from? I know you’re here because you care (or you’re curious). Either way, I’m glad you made it. Teens are juggling so much. Their rapid growth and need for independence might feel like they’re pushing you out. You want the best for them. Maybe you’ve been reaching for your teen for years and are at the end of your rope. If so, attachment-focused art therapy might be worth a shot.

While adoption and foster care blatantly point to attachment injuries, just about everyone has attachment issues (no parent is perfect at attuning to their child’s every need). As an attachment-focused and trauma-informed art therapist & counselor, I work to creatively help teens identify where their attachment wounds came from and discover how these wounds have been affecting them and their relationships. Alongside talk therapy, art therapy may look like reflecting through a drawing directive, releasing frustration by pounding clay, problem-solving by tearing up magazine pages to make a collage, or building a song playlist related to one of their goals.

I’ve worked with teens through community mental health through a variety of roles: at a teen shelter, drop-in youth centers, a Children's Long-term Inpatient Program (CLIP) facility for tweens and teens, and schools. While every teen is different, I can honestly say they are some of my favorite people to work with. Teens are usually open to expressing their creative side and have the best sense of humor.

Common reasons that bring teens to art therapy:

• Anxiety

• Stress/worry

• Crippling perfectionism

• Dating, break-ups

• Relationship issues/concerns

• Complicated family dynamics

• Life transitions (divorce, moving)

• Low self-esteem/lack of confidence

• Need for racial identity exploration

• Need for faith/spiritual identity exploration

• Stress management

• Behavioral Issues

• Lack of social skills

• Neurodivergent needs

• Trauma and PTSD

• Grief and loss

• Depression

• Self-Harm

If any of these sound all too familiar, please reach out if you think art therapy might be a good avenue for your teen’s well being. You can schedule a free 15 minute phone consult to see if we’re a good fit. It would be an honor to work with your teen!