Counselling for Teenagers
Somewhere that's theirs.
Adolescence is a lot to carry, and most of it happens in places where someone is always watching — school, home, a group chat. Counselling is one hour a week where none of that applies.
Some teenagers arrive with something specific: anxiety before school, a friendship that's collapsed, a loss in the family, low mood that won't shift. Others arrive because a parent noticed something change and couldn't name it. Both are workable.
If you're a parent / caregiver reading this
Sessions are theirs. The plan is shared.
Your teenager needs to know the room is genuinely private, or they won't use it — that's the single thing that determines whether therapy works at this age. So what's said in a session stays there. What you'll get is the shape of the work: what we're focusing on, how it's going, and anything you can usefully do at home. If there's ever a serious risk to their safety, that's the exception, you'll know. An individual session prior to your teen coming in can be immensely helpful for you and the therapist too.
If you're the teenager reading this
You can say anything. You can say nothing.
The power of speaking to someone who isn't a parent, relative, teacher or friend and whose primary purpose is supporting you can be incredibly helpful and valuable. It can also be daunting. You don't have to want to be here. Plenty of teens arrive because a parent booked it, sit down, and say almost nothing the first time. That's a completely normal first session.
You won't be diagnosed with anything, told what to do, or reported on. You can talk about whatever you want and skip whatever you don't. If it's not useful, you can say so and we'll change how we're doing it — or you can stop.