My work with teenagers stems from my own challenges as a rebellious teen, my role as a father, and from my work with kids at an alternative high school in Denver working with grief, addiction, trauma, and challenges to coping with our complex world.
Being a teenager today is amazingly complex and brings so many challenges to us as parents. Technology, drugs and alcohol, pornography, video games, the internet… There are so many voices influencing our kids in addition to their peers that many teens and their parents need added support to navigate our complex world. As a therapist (and father), I’m dedicated to supporting teens who are facing these challenges. I believe it’s critical that we help teens find their passion, their voice, and to integrate into our complex world in a way that’s fulfilling because being a teenager is an incredibly challenging rite of passage that lacks sufficient support in our culture.
Not weird. The number one complaint students had about therapists at the high school I worked at in Denver was that they were weird. I relate to teenagers in a laid back, genuine, and down to earth way, not as a boring, up tight, over educated therapist.
Me Being Not Weird (and snowboarding)
A key facet of my approach is to relate to teens as they are, without condescension or pretense. I strive to be relatable, cool, and easy to talk to for teenagers, while balancing that with a rigorous professionalism. I bring my training as a therapist, but also my own inner teenager, to the table. I won’t bring a lot of wonkish psycho babble to my work with them. But I do address their fears, challenge them to grow up in their own way, and encourage their healthy communication of needs.
I look forward to connecting to your teenager in a genuine way, to helping them find their own path, and to helping them find their own footing in this complex and challenging world.