Teens see me as their trusted confidant and mentor. Parents see me as a valuable resource and support system.
I help highly sensitive teens and young-adults develop a winning, “can do” attitude. In their work with me, I teach my clients how to self-soothe, persevere in the face of challenge, maintain their dignity and self-respect, find ways to avoid drama, overcome their fears and believe in themselves, connect with a variety of people so as to learn whom they enjoy, and ultimately create a life that suits them.
When many of today’s parents were in school, very few kids went to therapy. Yet, now it’s much more common and accepted. In fact, many teens who are in therapy today view it as a way to gain greater insight into the way they feel, think, and react.
Some parents are hesitant to start their adolescent in therapy because they fear it might stigmatize their teenager and/or imply that they’ve failed in some way as a parent. And yet, there isn’t a teenager in America who couldn’t benefit from a visit to a therapist’s office to help them negotiate the trauma and drama of the teen years.
Simply said, it is hard to cope with all of the changes that happen during adolescence, and counseling is appropriate for teenagers who are feeling depressed, anxious, falling behind in school, using drugs or alcohol, struggling in their relationships with their friends or their parents. Therapy allows both teenagers and their parents to feel more empowered, find clarity and create room for change.
Lagging developmental skills and unsolved personal problems often lie behind a teen’s challenging behavior. The good news is that an adolescent’s emotional well-being can be optimized through guidance and education. Emerging science now offers us an inside look at how a positive therapeutic relationship can enhance brain functioning, self-esteem, empathy and the ability to form lasting relationships.
I offer a multi-disciplinary approach to address emotional challenges that may require more than just talk therapy alone. By helping teens strengthen their skills of flexibility, adaptability, frustration tolerance and problem solving, they are better prepared to meet the rapid changes they are encountering in education, careers, families and society.
I help teens & their parents–from all cultural backgrounds–meet the challenges of adolescence with confidence and success.
Taking the Trouble out of the Teen Years
www.sandradupont.com
Providing service for: Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Culver City, Los Angeles, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Mar Vista, and Topanga Canyon.