Teen Therapy in Natick, MA

Teens come to us for a wide range of reasons. The most common include:

• Anxiety: generalized worry, social anxiety, panic, school refusal, performance anxiety, perfectionism that has stopped being useful.
• Depression: persistent low mood, withdrawal, irritability (depression often looks like anger in teens, not sadness), loss of interest, sleep and appetite changes.
• School-related stress: academic pressure, navigating high school socially, the college admissions arc, school refusal, learning difficulty support.
• Identity exploration: sexuality, gender, race and ethnicity, religion, the broader question of who they are becoming.
• Family conflict: the rupture that can happen between teens and parents, blended-family adjustment, separation and divorce, conflict with siblings.
• Neurodivergence: ADHD, autism, learning differences, late-diagnosed neurodivergence, the social and academic impact of either.
• Substance use: experimentation that has become more, vaping, alcohol, cannabis, family concern about use, recovery support.
• Trauma: sexual assault, relational trauma, witnessing violence, chronic invalidation, medical trauma, the impact of social media culture on teens' sense of self.
• Self-harm and suicidal thoughts: when these come up, we plan for safety and decide together what level of care is appropriate.

A note on what we do not treat: we do not treat eating disorders, paranoia, or schizophrenia as primary presentations. We will refer when those are the right fit.

How we approach teen work at Aurora

The work with teens has its own rhythm. Some principles that shape it:

• Teens are the client. Even when parents brought them in, the working relationship is between the therapist and the teen. Confidentiality is structured carefully: we share themes and concerns with parents; we do not share verbatim what your teenager says, except when safety requires it.
• The first few sessions are about whether this clinician is the right fit for your teen. A teenager who feels respected and listened to engages with therapy. A teenager who feels managed does not.
• Family is part of the picture, but usually not in the room every week. We typically work with the teen individually, with periodic parent sessions or family sessions when those are useful. The structure adapts to the work.
• We are direct with teens. We do not pretend we are their friend. We are an adult with training and experience who is in their corner. Teens generally respond well to that.

Modalities

The clinical work uses approaches matched to the teen and the concern:

• CBT for anxiety, depression, and many other concerns.
• DBT-informed skills for emotion regulation, intense interpersonal conflict, self-harm urges.
• ACT for values-based work, motivation, and the meaning-making that adolescence often involves.
• Psychodynamic and relational approaches for teens whose work is more about understanding themselves and their patterns.
• Trauma-informed work when trauma is part of the picture.
• Expressive arts and play approaches for younger teens or those whose work is hard to put into words.