Therapy for teens and adolescents in regional NSW

In regional and more remote areas of Australia, many teenagers can struggle with issues due to feeling isolated and a lack of local supports to assist them with things they may be struggling with. This often means many young adults can struggle with their mental health silently due to feeling there is no-one to reach out to for support. This can also leave parents feeling very stuck due to not knowing how to help, as many teens can struggle to open to them.

We work with adolescents and teens across Australia (even cities like Canberra and Sydney) via telehealth and face to face. This is often a challenging time as relationships become more complex, hormonal changes occur and there is an increased pushed to fit in with others and be independent. Often, this is a time of finding out who we are, so things like sexuality and identity all come into the mix around the difficulties adolescents face and how they fit in the world.

Often teens benefit from connecting to someone entirely removed from the situation and family, as they may struggle to be honest and open up to parents about what concerns them. Having worked across numerous headspace sites before, adolescents is an area we have extensive experience in supporting. Even working with more complex issues such as trauma, loss, grief and self-harm is something we are quote experienced with.

Often, we also recommend the parent engage in reflective parenting as a part of this process. This is due to there often being a disconnection with a caregiver. This helps the parent to focus and unpack their experience, as well as finding new ways to better connecting with your loved one. Many parents can often feel very lost and helpless during this time when they don’t know how to help or what to do (this is usually a good indicator to get support!)

We also recommend doing this sooner rather than later, as early intervention tends to produce better outcomes in the long run. However, even if the issue has been happening for years, it is never to late to reach out and start chatting to someone! Therapy can vary in length, with issues such as trauma taking longer time periods. Teens can also experience more ‘episodic’ stress, which are more one of reactions to things happenings such as bulling, upcoming exams ect why may be less long term. Again, reaching out support can be key.