You can learn a lot by asking your teen about their life, and then listening without jumping immediately to advice giving.

When you withhold judgment and resist the temptation to give advice, you gain valuable information about your teen’s friends, academics, and mental health. You also give them an opportunity to feel closer to you.

It can feel wonderful to speak openly in a confidential space that is just for you. As a therapist, it is my job to create time and space for you to process, vent, reflect, cry, laugh, ask questions, and even sit quietly and experience your emotions.

In therapy, it is also normal to feel upset by what comes up when you allow yourself to discuss and feel things that you have as of yet been unable to process.