Young People
Imagine you have to take a road trip on a deserted road alone. Halfway through the trip, your engine starts to sputter and the car breaks down. What do you do?
A lot of people imagine that therapy and treatment is like calling a mechanic to come and fix your car for you: you make the call, and then you just have to wait around until the mechanic has fixed the problem. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. There is no on-call mechanic. No one can fix this car but you.
Instead, it’s like you pull a toolbox out of the trunk, pop open the hood, and call the mechanic on the phone. You have to try to describe the problems as clearly as possible and follow the advice they give you as well as you can.
Sometimes you won’t understand the advice, and you’ll have to ask them to explain it again or suggest something else. Sometimes you’ll do what they say, and the car still won’t run, and they won’t be able to explain why, only give you something new to try. Sometimes you’ll think you fixed the problem and start driving, only to have the car break down two minutes down the road. No matter what happens, it’s going to be hard and messy and frustrating work.
But at the end of it. not only will your car be running again, but you’ll know how to fix it now. Which isn’t to say you’ll never need another mechanic again, but the next time you get stuck, it’ll be that little bit easier to handle.
How does it Work?*
What about Privacy?
If you are over 18, your confidentiality is protected by the law.
No matter what your age, there are some exceptions, though. To find out about those, click here.
If you are under 18, your confidentiality is still protected by the law, but your parent needs to give permission - just like any other medical appointment. Most teens want their sessions to be private, so I request that parents respect that (and in my experience they do). Depending on the issue, you and I would decide if it might be helpful at some point for your parent(s) to join some session(s).
What should I expect?
The first session is a chance for me to hear why you are coming to therapy and how I might help. I will ask you questions about yourself and your history, your current life, and your goals or vision. But you don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to.
This session is also a chance for you to get to know me and figure out if you want to work with me. You can ask me anything you want about how I work. You will probably get a sense of whether you will feel comfortable with me or whether you need to look further. Sometimes people tell me they are interviewing a few therapists before they decide; it is fine to be honest and up front about that with the therapists you are interviewing.
What if we don't click?
Feeling comfortable with your therapist is so important. Sometimes, people know in the first session. Sometimes it takes longer. I recommend doing 3 or 4 sessions to get a full sense. After 4 sessions, we will check in. If you don’t feel it’s a good fit, I want to know, so you can find the right therapist.
How long does therapy last?
That is up to you and what your goals are.
The first 4 sessions is period where we figure out what you want to accomplish. It could be general, like, “I don’t know why I am so unhappy. Something isn’t right.” Or it could be very specific, like, “I want to stop having panics attacks ”
After we discuss what you want to change, we can figure out how often we need to meet and how long it will take to accomplish your goal(s). Meeting weekly is typical, and each session is 53 minutes. But everyone is different, and we develop a treatment plan that is designed for you.
Many young people are in therapy between 3 months to a year. Some choose to be in therapy longer, and others resolve an issue and end therapy to return later for another issue that has arisen. In certain cases, treatments are very quick: for example, If life was good until you had a single trauma, EMDR may help you resolve this within 2-4 sessions.