How We Help

From age 12 until 25 our brains and bodies undergo significant change. As with any change, there is stress and resistance.  Tension in families often increases when there is a teenager at home.   

With change comes discomfort.  Forward Counseling offers individual counseling services to adolescents as a way to offer them support in a non-threatening environment. Adolescents can find a supportive ear to help them transition this difficult time.  Forward Counseling also offers family counseling to help parents understand the challenge of maintaining stability in the sea of parenting an adolescent. 

Our Philosophy regarding adolescent therapy:

  • We are supportive to our adolescent clients.

  • We teach adolescents how to cope and how to get their needs met.

  • We are nonjudgmental, but can and will use gentle confrontation when appropriate.

  • Our goal is to reduce the adolescent’s shame and frustration by teaching communication and coping skills.

  • We teach and model these skills: survival, thriving, resourcefulness, resilience, and nonviolent communication.

  • We help adolescents identity their triggers and learn coping skills.

  • All sexual matters are approached in a non-judgmental manner. All questions from client will be answered openly and honestly, unless personal disclosure from therapist is requested.

  • We utilize open, honest role modeling.

  • Parents will be involved through family therapy sessions.

Our Method

We use a family systems based, problem-solving, person-centered approach to confront a range of issues such as:

○  Anxiety
○  Academic Difficulties
○  Bullying
○  Grief and Loss
○  Relationships
○  Family Conflicts
○  Substance abuse and addiction
○  Trauma & Abuse
○  Self-Confidence Issues
○  Aggression

We recognize that people are doing the best they can with their current skill set.  At Forward Counseling, we teach adolescents and parents how to manage and cope with their stressors in healthy ways.  The approach is tailored to each person or families needs.

Therapy techniques include:

·  Cognitive behavior therapy
·  Dialectical behavior therapy
·  Art therapy
·  Play therapy
·  Solution-focused brief therapy
·  Family therapy
·  Crisis intervention
·  Pet-assisted therapy   

 

Steps to Seek and Begin Therapy                    

1. Initial Inquiry or Referral: This may be a phone call in which the parent and one of our Office Managers will gather initial information, such as personal contact information, description of primary concerns, and current/past treatment history. At this time assessment or initial intake appointment is typically scheduled.                    

2. Initial Assessment and Intake: This first session will be with a therapist and the adult caregivers of the child only.  During this session, caregivers will meet their child’s therapist and provide the therapist with a more extensive background, history, and goals for the family.  At the end of this session, your therapist will recommend services for your child and family to address the concerns that brought you all to our practice and will schedule another appointment based on the assessment.

3. Service Delivery: Counseling services for children and adolescents are provided using a Family Systems Based Approach.  Therapeutic interventions offered at Forward Counseling include:  Gottman Informed Therapy, Collaborative Problem Solving, Client-Centered Theories, CBT and DBT strategies, Art Therapy, Expressive Arts based interventions, Play Therapy, Yoga, Psychological Testing,  Sensory Testing, Medical Services, Biofeedback, Mindfulness Based Emotion Processing and Rapid Trauma Resolution Techniques.  Since we use a Family Sytems Approach, we will suggest and offer services for the whole family.  Parents or caregivers are an important part of therapy and if the client is a minor, they will almost always be participants in the therapeutic process.  Sessions may include individual counseling, parent/child counseling, parent coaching and consultation, family therapy, group therapy, or couples therapy.  

                    

What To Expect During Sessions

Sessions with children and families are framed using techniques from developmental, client-centered and play-based models of therapy. Strategies are altered and chosen to compliment the needs of individual client and family.                    

Sessions are scheduled as either individual, group, family or couples counseling. Individual sessions are 45 minutes, Group Therapy is generally 60 minutes.  Couples Therapy is 45-60 minutes and Family Therapy is 45-90 minutes per session.