Counseling for Teens in San Diego
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(619) 877-2560
How Can Christian Counseling Help Troubled Teens?
If you’re looking for a Christian counselor for teenage problems, you’re not alone. Many parents get to a point where they feel helpless to support their child through teenage problems.
Teen counseling supports both children and parents. Your Christian therapist at San Diego Christian Counseling can offer guidance, spiritual perspective, and professional tools for problems faced by troubled teens and their parents.
In Christian counseling, your teenager can:
- Develop communication skills so they can talk about their problems effectively.
- Feel safe enough to explore inner thoughts, feelings, and desires, and to grapple with doubt or uncertainty in their religious beliefs.
- Gain awareness of the normal development they’re going through and how it may be affecting them.
- Learn and practice healthy social skills.
- Be equipped to manage negative emotions and thinking patterns.
- Understand practical ways to mend past wounds and rebuild relationships as well as withstand peer pressure.
- Learn how to manage negative thoughts instead of being controlled by them.
- Grow in awareness of their personal identity and behavior, and learning how to move towards healthy change and growth.
The counselors at San Diego Christian Counseling have worked with many troubled teens and their families. They offer compassionate, professional support and a safe place for healing and growth.
Our Family Is Experiencing A Number Of Teenage Problems. How Can We Find A Counselor Who Can Help?
When one child is facing struggles and teenage problems, the entire family can be affected. Counseling for teens is one of the best steps you can take to ensure the well-being of each family member, including your teenager.
At San Diego Christian Counseling, we offer a risk-free initial session to ensure that you find a counselor who is the best fit for you and your family. Our skilled and experienced Christian therapists can work with a wide variety of issues, including anxiety, depression, and other struggles of troubled teens.
Browse our counselor directory to find a counselor who will be a good fit for your family.
During your first appointment, you’ll be in a supportive setting where you can explore your options and hear how the counseling process works and how it can benefit your family.
I’m Considering Teen Counseling For One Of My Children. What Should We Expect During A Teen Therapy Session?
Your Christian counselor will tailor his or her therapeutic approach to your teen’s specific issues, but you can assume that treatment will include overcoming obstacles your child may be struggling with, gaining skills to promote mental and emotional well-being and relational thriving, and encouraging healthy family and parent/child relationships.
A counselor can often serve as a bridge or mediator between a parent and a child who is distant or unwilling to connect. It can be a relief for a teenager to talk to a neutral third party about the sensitive topics affecting them, and it can be a relief as a parent to process your own challenges and concerns.
Adolescence can be a challenging and turbulent time for any family. We want to see your child reach his or her full potential and thrive in their identity as created by God. And we want your relationship with them to be healthy, strong, and thriving as well.
I Think My Child May Be Experiencing Teen Depression. What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Depression In Teens?
If you’re trying to identify symptoms of depression in teens, the teen years can make it extra challenging. Many of the symptoms of depression can mirror normal adolescent issues, such as increased appetite, lack of motivation, social struggles, etc.
Because upheaval is a normal part of adolescence, teen depression can be even more difficult to treat than depression in adults. Depression in teens adds another layer of challenges to an already challenging time of life.
Teen depression often coincides with negative self-talk and comparison, just as in adults. Teens may have increased risk factors, such as developing at a different rate than peers, comparing themselves through social media, or being bullied on social media or elsewhere.
One of the biggest problems with depression is that it can inhibit healthy development, which will lead to bigger problems later on. Teenagers should be developing a sense of self and outside interests. If they’re inhibited by depression, they’re more likely to develop anxiety, self-doubt, and insecurity, which can be self-fulfilling prophecies as they become adults.
The earlier teen depression is treated, the better the prognosis for adulthood. Medication is a legitimate option, but many parents and providers hesitate to use it during such formative years.
With or without medication, therapy can have a huge influence on helping adolescents manage and overcome depression, and reduce the stigma that sometimes comes with it. In therapy, our Christian counselors work with teens on developing a healthy sense of self, personal goals, and coping skills.
How Can Christian Counseling Help With Anxiety In Teens?
Like depression (see above), anxiety in teens can also inhibit healthy development. Managing the teen years is difficult enough on its own. When you add in chronic struggles with anxiety, teens can be distracted from important developmental progress that will enable them to make a healthy transition into adulthood.
What are the risk factors for anxiety in teens? They may include:
- Chronic stress
- Pressure to succeed
- Major life transitions
- Parents divorcing
- Death of a loved one
- Difficulties in family life
- Adverse childhood experiences
- Social struggles, including bullying
In Christian counseling for anxiety in teens, your child can learn to manage a sense of overwhelm and their response to external stressors. They can also learn to manage negative emotions using positive coping skills. Rather than stuffing emotions or communicating them destructively, Christian counseling can help teens learn to process their emotions and share them in a healthy way.
My Teenager Struggles With Self-Injury. What Treatment Options Are Available For Self-Harm?
If you suspect or know that your child is harming themselves, it can be terrifying and devastating. Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI) is unfortunately not an unusual struggle for adolescents. There are treatment options available, and it’s so important to seek treatment as soon as possible for self-injury in teens.
What are some of the risk factors and underlying causes of self-injury? NSSI is often associated with depression. It may be an emotional outlet or a grasp for control when nothing else seems to be under control.
Sometimes people assume that NSSI is a way to seek attention, but that is not necessarily true. At times it may be a cry for help, but often it’s hidden and the teen does not want to be discovered.
Stopping this destructive habit can be very difficult, but it is possible. Christian counseling for self-injury in teens may include individual, family, and/or group psychotherapy. Medication may be another option.
Treatment for self-injury in teens involves addressing the underlying reasons for the activity, as well as learning skills to cope with express emotions in a healthy way. Again, even though NSSI is termed “non-suicidal,” it’s also associated with suicidal ideation and increased risk of suicide. It can also lead to accidental injury and even death. Seeking treatment is vital and can be lifesaving.
I Think My Teenager May Be Having Suicidal Thoughts. What Do I Do?
If you think your teenager may be contemplating suicide, please take it seriously. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for children and teens between the ages of 10 and 19. If you believe a suicide attempt is imminent, please call 911 or take them to the nearest emergency room. If you are concerned about suicidal ideation or planning but your teen is not in immediate danger, it’s still crucial to get help as soon as possible.
Suicide in teens is an issue due to the overwhelming emotions of adolescence combined with extra challenges such as external stressors or mental health issues.
In Christian counseling for suicidal thoughts in teens, your counselor is not subject to the same confidentiality agreement as they are for other issues. Parents are included in the process and the teen’s safety is the highest priority.
After your child’s safety is ensured, a treatment plan will include getting to the root of the issue and offering solutions for healing and addressing the underlying cause of suicidal thoughts.
Does Your Office Provide Counseling Services For Teen Drug Abuse?
Drug use in teens, even marijuana use, is associated with higher risks and problems than drug use in adults. Therapy for teen drug abuse is essential. The problem with using controlled or illicit substances as a teenager is that not only do they cause dependency and addiction, they also stunt normal, healthy development, which can affect your child long after their substance abuse ends.
At San Diego Christian Counseling, therapy for teen drug abuse focuses on early intervention, education about the dangers associated with drug use in teens, and emotional support for life stressors that teens might be escaping by using substances.
Contact Us Today
We offer a risk-free initial visit to make sure you find the right counselor for you and your specific needs. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to start the journey toward finding the relief and hope you desire.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(619) 877-2560