Mental health difficulties for teens and young adults often have a significant impact on their daily lives. Common Threads can be the answer to meaningful support and service when other options have not worked, have left you feeling unheard, misunderstood or not a part of the solution. We understand that the first step in meaningful work is trust and that systems may have caused trust to be difficult for many that walk in our door. We want to hear what has not worked, not helped and been difficult and then we want to work with you to create a different path, one that outsmarts any obstacle or barrier.
If you are a parent or guardian, the signs below indicate that psychotherapy could be helpful for your teen or young adult.
Is your teen or young adult:
Troubled by often feeling:
- very angry;
- Over-reactive to things;
- Worthless or guilty;
- Anxious or worried more than other young people;
- Grief for a long time after a loss or death;
- Extremely fearful, having unexplained fears or more fears than most kids;
- Constantly concerned about physical problems or appearance;
- Or frightened that their mind is controlled, or is out of control.
Experiencing big changes, for example:
- Does much worse in school;
- Loses interest in things they once enjoyed;
- Has unexplained changes in sleeping or eating habits;
- Avoids friends or family and wants to be alone all the time;
- Daydreams too much and can’t get things done;
- Feels life is too hard to handle or talks about suicide;
- Or hears voices that cannot be explained.
Limited by:
- Poor concentration or decision-making;
- An inability to sit still or focus attention;
- Worry about being harmed, hurting others, or doing something “bad;”
- The need to wash, clean things, or perform certain routines dozens of times a day;
- Thoughts that race almost too fast to follow;
- Or persistent nightmares.
Behaving in ways that cause problems, for example:
- Uses alcohol or other drugs;
- Eats large amounts of food and then forces vomiting, abuses laxatives, or takes enemas to avoid weight gain;
- Diets or exercises obsessively;
- Often hurts other people, destroys property, or breaks the law;
- Or does things that can be life threatening.
Parents are encouraged to be active participants in their teen’s treatment here at Common Threads. Oftentimes teens are ready to “break away” and “separate” from their parents even within therapy. When and if this happens, our clinicians work hard to bridge communication so that parents are aware of and feel connected to the treatment their teen is receiving at our center.