This Post: Does Your Teen Need Therapy? According to Studies, There’s a 50% Chance the Answer is ‘Yes.’
Written By: Alex H. Schwartz
Most adults are adept at dealing with stress, worry, disappointment, and heartache. Teenagers, on the other hand, are not. They oftentimes internalize their stress and feelings of fear, anxiety, and depression.
Of course, some moodiness, anxiety, stress, social ups and downs, and short episodes of feeling down are completely normal, especially at a time in teens’ lives when their bodies are going through a major overhaul and they’re transitioning to adulthood. But when problems persist, it’s time to take action.
Regardless of whether a child (and they are still children) is exhibiting strong or subtle warning signs of a mental health issue, one thing is for sure. Take it seriously.
A recent study conducted by the Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs found that 49.5 percent, essentially one out of two teenagers, has had some form of mental health disorder.
For parents asking themselves if their teen has a mental health issue, there’s a 50% chance the answer is ‘yes.’
Does Your Teen Need Therapy? According to Studies, There’s a 50% Chance the Answer is ‘Yes’
Uncontrollable behavior, eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, cutting, self-isolation and withdrawal, poor performance at school, or skipping school altogether – these are all signs your teen may be in distress.
While these conditions and symptoms are nothing new, today’s teens are in the midst of a mental health epidemic with more teens than ever before vulnerable to mental and emotional issues.
What’s particularly challenging is that, in some cases, the warning signs and, thus, the need for possible therapeutic intervention, are so subtle, that they’re overlooked by parents.
Maybe their teen is a little more quiet than usual. Maybe they’re spending far too much time isolated in their bedrooms. Or, perhaps they no longer engage with friends or they’ve lost interest in a hobby or sport. Nothing too alarming, yet worrisome just the same.
Family and home situations can also influence a teen’s mental health, even when parents are highly supportive and involved in their children’s lives. For example, if a mother is experiencing the stress of caring for her kids and her ailing parents at the same time, some teens could bottle up their problems to avoid becoming yet another source of concern.
In fact, a recent Harvard Graduate School of Education study, Caring for Caregivers: The Critical Link Between Parent and Teen Mental Health, revealed that parental anxiety and depression rates are similar to those experienced by teens and that there is a strong link between the mental health of parents and the mental health of their adolescents.
If a family is in crisis due to a serious illness, loss of the primary breadwinner’s job, or if the parents are divorcing, the impact on the teenagers in the home can cause significant (and perhaps lasting) damage to their mental health and psyche.
This is where parents need to put their teens first and recognize that the happenings within the home can have a profound impact on their children.
Unfortunately, some parents are already so stressed out with life’s responsibilities that they don’t have the emotional energy and strength to fully see and act appropriately on their child’s issues, too. Other parents may be deliberately or subconsciously in denial that there’s a problem in the first place. This can be due to a sense of shame that their child has a mental health issue or a secret fear that they’ve somehow caused it. Still, others might believe that they’re protecting their child from being stigmatized as a ‘problem’ by keeping their struggles hidden at home.
READ: Does My Teen Need Counseling? 15 Signs to Know
In cases of divorce, for instance, parents can become so blinded by their hostility toward each other that they don’t see the emotional and mental damage it’s causing their kids.
The assumption that “They’ll be fine once the divorce is over,” is naïve at best. The emotional wounds may be deep and never fully heal without professional help.
And then there’s social media.
Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, TikTok – these wildly popular platforms where most teens “hang out” for hours a day, hold the potential to become a toxic environment for teens vulnerable to emotional cruelty such as bullying and shaming. In a society that emphasizes popularity and fitting in, they can also be a painful, isolating reminder for any teenager who struggles with making friends.
Because social media is an ongoing, 24/7 open display of a teen’s life, they can never fully escape from it and therefore have a hard time compartmentalizing it and keeping it in perspective.
That’s why when a teen exhibits strong OR subtle warning signs of a mental health issue, parents must take it seriously.
As with any type of health issue, the sooner it’s treated, the higher the likelihood of a good outcome. When problems go unchecked, it becomes much harder to turn a teen around and get them back on the rails. Countless times in juvenile court, I’ve represented young clients knowing that they would not be facing a judge if their parents had gotten them the help they needed when they first noticed a problem.
To avert issues before they get out of hand, more and more parents are embracing adolescent psychotherapy for what it really can be: a proactive, positive demonstration of their love for their child and a willingness to do anything to help them overcome the stress and anxiety of being a teenager so they can grow up to become a happy, productive and well-adjusted adult.
There’s the case of a trans teen whose regular therapy visits helped them work through their gender identification and become comfortable with the person they were meant to be. Or the case of a young boy whose mother thought he had ADHD but whose father just thought he was just a super smart, super high-energy kid. A series of visits to the therapist revealed Dad was right!
Another issue today’s teens face is a huge emphasis on being perfect. Speaking with an objective therapist who listens can provide reassuring guidance and coping skills for taking the academic and social pressure off of themselves.
A qualified, licensed therapist can be hugely beneficial in your teen’s life. They can improve your teen’s mental health which can change their life in so many positive (and often surprising) ways. A therapist can help them by:
- Listening and providing support and understanding
- Finding solutions to repetitive problems in their life
- Improving their relationships with parents, siblings, friends, and others
- Developing healthy coping mechanisms when life gets hard or they become overwhelmed
- Improving their confidence and self-esteem
- Increasing their safety by addressing risky behavior and relationships
As parents, we make countless, decisions to ensure our children’s physical and mental development and well-being. We take them to the dentist regularly, sign them up for sports, hire a tutor if they need help in a particular subject in school, take them for annual physical check-ups, send them to camp, encourage music lessons, and other activities that let them explore their talents, discover their passions and enjoy a positive social life.
Therapy is simply another responsible parenting decision that recognizes that a healthy mindset and a positive self-image are important to a teenager’s development and future happiness. Let’s remove the stigma of therapy and offer teenagers the support they need to not only survive their teen years but to thrive.
About Alex H. Schwartz, Attorney at Law
Attorney Alex H. Schwartz is a youth lawyer licensed in Connecticut and New York. He has helped countless minors and their families get through difficult situations with compassion, patience, and a belief that the rest of a child’s life shouldn’t depend on whether the parents can access a good lawyer. For more information, see https://ahschwartz.com
If you enjoyed reading, “Does Your Teen Need Therapy? According to Studies, There’s a 50% Chance the Answer is ‘Yes‘,” here are a few other posts you might like!
Teenage Mental Health: Red Flags Every Parent Should Watch For
Healthy Coping Skills for Teenagers: 10 Ways to Relieve Stress & Anxiety