Signs Your Teen Needs Counselling
Adolescence is one of the most important phases in a child’s life. Teenagers face not only physical but also psychological problems like risk-taking behaviours, excessive worry about the future, moodiness, and navigating through interpersonal relationships. Mental health counseling is an essential tool for helping adolescents, especially at an early stage, with any issues they may be facing.
Parents are often reluctant to reach out to a counselor – usually because they may want to wait and see whether the situation can be resolved without the need for outside assistance. However, psychological and behavioral troubles will only worsen if left unaddressed and parents may reach out to a counselor when such issues have negatively impacted their teenagers significantly. Following are some signs that your adolescent should see a counselor:
- Constantly feeling sad, anxious, worried, hopeless, or fearful Frequent anger outbursts, yelling, screaming, and being rude/inconsiderate and resentful
- Addicted to mobile phones and playing video games
- Getting poor grades in school or suddenly experiencing a drop in performance and becoming extremely anxious about giving exams
- Skipping classes or expressing hatred or fear of going to school
- Feeling restless, unable to settle down or focus on tasks, and refusing to do chores
- Expressing suicidal thoughts or talking about death
- Engaging in self-harm behaviors (e.g., cutting, scratching to mark themselves; picking at scabs and not allowing them to heal; pulling hair; biting, bruising, or hitting themselves)
- Abuses alcohol or drugs
- Dramatic changes in their sleeping and/or eating habits
- Withdrawing and isolating themselves from family and friends
If you do not notice these specific signs but still feel that your teen could benefit from mental health counseling, don’t be hesitant to bring up the subject. Your teenager may be internalizing problems and hiding issues that may seem unusual or worrying to you. Teens are often reluctant to go to therapy as they may perceive it as a punishment or because they may fear being bullied if their peers find out. As a
parent, you can influence your teenager’s perception of counseling by discussing it with them. Reassure your teen that therapy is confidential, highlight the benefits that could be derived from it and frame it as a holistic experience. Once your teen is open to the idea of trying therapy, contact Faculty Minds today!
