Is Your Teen a Perfectionist? Why Back-to-School Season Can Make It Worse

Is Your Teen a Perfectionist? Why Back-to-School Season Can Make It Worse

When it’s time to go back to school, your teen might be excited about new opportunities and a fresh start. But it can also increase stress and anxiety if they tend to be a perfectionist. On the outside a perfectionist teen typically appears highly motivated, 

When College Isn’t What You Expected

When College Isn’t What You Expected

Most teens who go off to college envision the start of an exciting new chapter where they make lifelong friends, love having their independence and enjoy college life. But in reality, for more people than you’d expect, in the beginning it looks very different.  The 

Your College Counselor Can Help You Get Into College. But They Can’t Help You Through The Application Process

Your College Counselor Can Help You Get Into College. But They Can’t Help You Through The Application Process

Applying to college is an exciting milestone for high school students, but it’s also very stressful. Comparing different schools, writing essays, submitting applications, and waiting for decisions, can be very overwhelming. College counselors are a great resource during this time because they are able to 

Why Summer Is One of the Best Times for Teens to Start Therapy

Why Summer Is One of the Best Times for Teens to Start Therapy

The school year is usually nonstop for teens. There is so much going on with school, extracurricular activities, sports, social events and more.  So there may not be a lot of time to focus on emotional well-being.  But summer is usually different. There are less 

Why Coming Home from College Can Feel Harder Than Leaving

Why Coming Home from College Can Feel Harder Than Leaving

When a teen leaves home for their first year of college it is exciting, but also a little sad, for everyone in the family.   The first year brings a lot of changes and adjustments while parents learn to let go and students gain independence and 

Understanding Isolation in Teenage Boys

Understanding Isolation in Teenage Boys

When teenage boys isolate, it is often misinterpreted as independence or defiance.  In reality, it’s more of a protective response to the stress they are feeling inside.  They don’t withdraw because they don’t care, rather because they don’t feel safe expressing what they are experiencing.  

The Hidden Self-Criticism Teenage Girls Carry

The Hidden Self-Criticism Teenage Girls Carry

Teenage girls can quietly carry a persistent self-criticism that others can’t see from the outside. They may appear to have it all together, but internally they question their worth, don’t acknowledge their strengths, and assume they are falling short.  Because this struggle is mostly internal, 

When Everyone Else Seems to Get Pregnant Easily: Managing Comparison, Fear, and the Unknown

When Everyone Else Seems to Get Pregnant Easily: Managing Comparison, Fear, and the Unknown

If you are struggling with infertility or pregnancy related challenges, watching others get pregnant quickly can be a tough terrain to navigate.  There is no right or wrong way to feel, but sometimes negative feelings can take over and that’s normal. Let’s talk about why 

When Big Feelings Show Up as Anxiety or Anger: Understanding Emotional Overload in Tweens

When Big Feelings Show Up as Anxiety or Anger: Understanding Emotional Overload in Tweens

As a parent, you might notice a lot more irritability, defiance, or meltdowns with your tween, which can be really disruptive. In dealing with that disruption, and everything that triggers for everyone else in your house, it’s hard to remember that those mood swings and 

When Confidence Starts to Dip: How to Help Your Child Navigate Self-Esteem Changes in Late Elementary and Middle School

When Confidence Starts to Dip: How to Help Your Child Navigate Self-Esteem Changes in Late Elementary and Middle School

If you notice your child suddenly self-conscious, saying “I’m not good at anything,” and comparing themselves to their friends, this might seem out of character and concerning.  You should know this is not a failure in parenting, it’s actually a common developmental stage. That doesn’t