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GRIEF THERAPY FOR TEENS

I support older teens (16+) with processing significant grief and loss in their lives. I have specialized experience working with queer, trans, and non-binary teens.

living with the knowledge of death

As teens, you’re going through a uniquely transformative time where you’re exploring who you are, what’s important to you, and how you want to live your life. Your world is expanding as you learn and try new things, and then all of a sudden…it contracts. You’ve lost someone you love or are about to, and now your life is rearranged in a way that’s difficult to understand.

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Is This You?

when a significant loss occurs, there’s a whole range of grief-related experiences, such as:

  • You want to talk about it but you don’t know how

  • You don’t want to talk about it and you’re not sure if that’s “okay”

  • You want to feel like when you do talk about it, it’s on your terms

  • You keep hearing from the people around you that they’re worried you’re not grieving

  • You don’t feel like yourself

  • You worry that your friends are going to treat you differently if they knew how you were feeling

  • You feel conflicted because you had tension with the person who died that didn’t get resolved

  • You’re struggling to pay attention in school or feel more disinterested about classes

  • You don’t enjoy the hobbies you used to

  • You feel scared about the kinds of decisions you’ve been making lately (e.g., riskier, more impulsive)

“Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it.”

Joan Didion

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How I Can Help You

I’m here to support you with better understanding how grief shows up in your life. While we might want to turn away from what can feel like the unbearable pain of grief, ignore that it exists or will it into oblivion, I believe that healing happens when we acknowledge the grief in whatever capacity we can.

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Faqs

Some important considerations for adolescent therapy:

  • To build a trusting relationship with adolescents, it’s important that they feel like their right to privacy and confidentiality is honored. They need to know that there aren’t restrictions to what they can talk about in therapy or that they’ll be asked to share the details with their family. I will reach out if there are any immediate concerns about safety. We will talk about limitations to confidentiality at the beginning of therapy.

  • We will meet at least once a week depending on your needs. I have limited afternoon appointments, so please indicate in the intake form what kind of availability you have for after-school sessions.

  • Anyone 12 and up who demonstrates the ability to provide informed consent can sign up for therapy. If you are above the age of 18, you have the right to your own treatment documents. This means that your caregivers cannot request notes or treatment plans on your behalf without your written consent. In the event of an emergency, I will reach out to your emergency contact, who may be your caregiver.

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get started

Fill in the consultation form to schedule an initial video call so we can get to know each other. I will respond within 2-3 working days.