“I Don’t Need Counseling!”
But, your teen says, "I don't need counseling!" or "There's nothing wrong with me!" or "People will think I'm crazy if they find out I am going to counseling!" Now what?
"I don't need counseling"
Answers:- Give it three chances, then we can talk more about this.
- It is a chance for you to have a safe, private place to talk about anything you want.
"There is nothing wrong with me!"
Answer:
- You are right!
"People will think I am crazy if they find out I am going to counseling!"
- You know that you are not crazy, right?- Counseling is private and confidential. No one needs to know.
- It will be up to you to talk about whether you are in counseling or not.
Parents, if your teen will not come to counseling, schedule the appointment anyway. Yes! and let your teen know that you are going to go to counseling with or without them. Let them know you are going to be discussing them.
At Heart and Soul Counseling our experience has often been that teenagers who have refused to go to counseling change their minds when they realize their parents are going without them and their absence is not keeping the conversations about them from taking place. It only means that they will not be included in that conversation! Many teens would rather be in the room if they know they are the topic of discussion!
If they don't come the first time, schedule again, and let your teen know you are still going even without them. Your teen just might surprise you and jump in the car to go to counseling!
Peg Hemmer, MSW, LISW-S, Heart and Soul Counseling, Westerville, OH 43081
www.heartandsoulohio.com
healing@heartandsoulohio.com
614-569-8205
Peg is the owner and a therapist at Heart and Soul Counseling in Westerville, Ohio. She received a Master of Social Work degree with a focus on Clinical Counseling and Child Welfare from The Ohio State University, graduated from Capital University with a Bachelor of Social Work degree and from Columbus State Community College with a major in Mental Health/Chemical Dependency/Mental Retardation and a minor in Sport and Fitness Management.
She has experience as an outpatient therapist, specializing in services to children ages 4 and up, adults, women's issues, couple's and family counseling. Peg is certified in Rational Hypnotherapy through the National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists. Peg has been trained in the Gottman approach to couple's therapy.
Peg re-established an Expressive Arts Clinical Program in a children's residential treatment center. In her role as a clinician there she provided services for youth who have experienced abuse and neglect, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Bi-Polar Disorder, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and other Mental Health issues.
Peg has developed and/or presented trainings, educational, mental health groups and interactive experiences for The Ohio Department of Mental Health, The Ohio Department of Aging, Help Me Grow, The Grove City Police Department, at a children's residential treatment center, for other mental health professionals and foster parents.
She is a member of The National Association of Social Workers and The National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists.
She is available to provide Social Work Supervision to graduate level social work students and graduates who are seeking their independent social work licensure.
Peg brings her education, experience and intuition to her private outpatient therapy practice, and particularly her creativity, in her work with children and adolescents, utilizing cognitive behavioral and solution focused therapies along with therapeutic play, sand tray, art, and movement modalities.-All rights reserved, Heart and Soul Counseling -