Kim North, Intern
Counselor Intern
In a society incrementally shedding the once-prevalent stigmas around psychological support, today’s adolescents are in a unique position when it comes to counseling services. While many welcome the idea, some still harbor hesitations about seeking professional help. The reasons vary from individual to individual, but the underlying cause often stems from misunderstandings or unfounded fears.
Here are a few strategies to help increase comfort levels for those adolescents who are hesitant about therapy:
- Normalize the Conversation:
By speaking about mental health regularly, it becomes a part of everyday life—just like physical health. You can do this by sharing positive stories of therapy or integrating mental health topics into daily discussions. - Peer Experiences:
Stories from friends or peers who have had positive experiences with counseling can be powerful. Hearing about successful encounters can dispel myths and alleviate concerns about the unknown. - Insightful Education:
Providing factual information about what therapy is and what it isn’t can clear up misconceptions. Knowledge about the process, confidentiality, and goals of therapy can make it seem less intimidating. - Incremental Exposure:
It’s okay to take small steps towards therapy. This might mean starting with online resources, attending workshops, or having informal chats with a counselor before committing to full sessions. - Emphasize Agency:
Letting adolescents have a say in the selection of their therapist or the form of therapy they receive can empower them and make the process feel less mandated and more like a personal choice. - Support Systems:
Encourage the involvement of a support system. Knowing they have the backing of friends or family can provide a comforting push to give therapy a try.
Counseling is a tool that is designed to help individuals flourish—mentally, emotionally, and often, socially. Demystifying it and fostering an environment of acceptance and openness can make a significant difference in the life of a young person hesitant to take that first step into a counselor’s office.
- Assure them that you will be involved in their treatment as much (or as little) as they would like for you too. Please do show your concern and desire to be involved by attending the first counseling session with them, and then periodically offering to be available for family sessions. The counselor may ask for you to come in from time to time at the end of the session, for this reason it is important that one of the parents be present 15 minutes before the session ends. If someone other than a parent is dropping off your child for his or her appointment, then please make sure you child has a means of contacting you in case you are needed.
- If your teen is worried about his or her confidentiality, then assure them that the counselor will only share vital information with the parents. Our counselors go over the confidentiality agreement during the first session and our standard operating procedure is to let adolescents know that because they are a minor, their parents do have rights to their records, but in order for counseling to work best adolescents need to know they can speak freely with their counselor. We typically encourage parents to trust that if their adolescent shares information that we think could be significantly life altering then we will make sure the parents are aware of the information their adolescent shared in session. We will first encourage the adolescent to share the information with their parents, but if he or she refuses, and the counselor thinks he or she is behaving in a way that could effect his or her life, then we will share this information with the parents with the adolescent’s knowledge that it is going to be disclosed. Most teens are comfortable with this arrangement, and it helps them to relax in sharing their true thoughts and feelings.
- Provide an opportunity at home for your adolescent to share what he or she is learning in counseling, by asking “was today a helpful session?” We have found that most teens find other forms of this question, like “how is counseling going,” or “what did you talk about today,” as either intrusive or easy to ignore. By asking “was it helpful,” then teens typically see that as you being concerned but not intrusive. This way if he or she wants to share more, the option is there, but if not then a simple “it was fine” or “it was okay” is enough.