Teen Therapist in NYC:
Therapy for Teens, Online
Jessica Healy, LMHC, LCPC
Therapy in NY, MA, ME, FL
I have worked as a teen therapist with young adults in NYC since my graduate school internship at the college counseling center at LaGuardia Community College, and teens continue to be some of my favorite clients. No one escapes their teen years unscathed by the highs and lows of changing hormones, and adding in mental health challenges and competitive school environments can feel like a pressure cooker. Encountering adult situations for the first time, discovering new passions and interests, and forging the beginnings of a career path can be overwhelming with the social and societal pressures teens face.
Therapy with me is a confidential space where teens can process what they really want and discover who they really are.
Therapy for
Teens Who Are Carrying A Lot
No matter how close your relationship is with your teen, there are some things that “parents just don’t understand.” Certain things just don’t feel right for teens to share with family, and being a teenager involves developing autonomy and learning good judgment through making your own choices (and mistakes).
School can be competitive, with everyone striving to stand out on college applications by being the best at each thing they do. Being cool and having friends is important, and just as important as that is not being seen trying to be cool. As annoying as it sounds, hormones are also a factor: teens just feel things more, objectively. And, things can feel more intense because teens are feeling certain things for the very first time (who could forget their first crush?).
Common teen challenges include:
Teen Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety often shows up for teens and kids somatically; for example, as unexplainable stomachaches or headaches. When teens aren’t doing well, it’s also common for them to pull away and want you to leave them alone because it’s too much to explain themselves to you, or they don’t have the words.
Teens might overwork to do well in school, or completely pack their after-school schedule with activities to keep busy to keep the “Sunday scaries” at bay. Others may shut down, space out, and spend tons of time on devices.
Slowing things down and introducing mindfulness and somatic awareness can help teens cope with surges in emotion, even when they’re in school away from therapy.
A Somatic IFS-Informed Approach For Teenagers
The “parts work” of IFS is intuitive for teens, who, in their developmental job of identity formation, may wake up one day feeling a certain way, and another day feeling the complete opposite.
Somatic therapy can be useful for teens to process subjects which are hard to talk about, introducing “bottom-up” mindful body awareness as a skill they can tap into for the rest of their lives. Since teens are just beginning their adult journey, reflecting on the choices they make during this fertile early stage in a narrative “top-down” manner can start them down a path that feels in integrity with who they are.
A few “parts” that are particularly significant to teens are the naysayer, the one who sees everything as cringe, the overachiever, and the people pleaser. These parts are often trying to help – and in certain situations, they do! By building better relationships with them, teens can gain greater awareness and autonomy over when and how they show up.
Young adults whose identities are forming around their participation in sports and the arts face a particular set of challenges.
Performing at a high level all the time can be exhausting. Teens in these roles may have a hard time speaking up if their coaches and teachers are too hard (or too easy!) on them, or believe the issue is with them and think they have to just “suck it up.”
It can be hard as a teen to know when to push through a challenge and when that may cause themselves harm
How Parents Are Involved
The parents’ role in therapy is different for every teen, and it also depends on the age of the teen, with older teens usually needing less parental involvement.
Typically, I will have an intake call with both parents (if possible) to hear their concerns, and then a consultation with the teen by themselves before moving on to individual sessions with the teen. After that, things between the teen client and I stay confidential unless I believe that bringing one or both parents into session is necessary for effective treatment, in which case we’ll discuss together what’s going on.
Understandably, some parents ask for updates, and on request I can provide a high level report on the teen’s progress, though I will not disclose specifics in order to maintain client trust. I would break confidentiality only in rare cases where the teen is exhibiting extremely high risk behaviors putting them imminently at risk of injury or death.
Online Teen Therapy
in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Maine
I work mainly as an online teen therapist, offering virtual psychotherapy to clients in:
- New York
(Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) - Massachusetts
(Boston area, North Shore, Western Mass.) - Maine
(Portland, Falmouth) - Florida
(Miami, Ft. Lauderdale)I am available to work with coaching clients anywhere in the world.
In-person sessions are available in Portland, ME, as well as twice per year in Brooklyn, NY.
Frequently Asked Questions About Therapy for Teens
How do I talk to my teen about going to therapy?
It may be useful to lead with how you have noticed a change in their behavior. I suggest you describe this observation in terms that might be captured by a videocamera (“I noticed you’re saying less at dinner than you used to”) versus something more interpretive (“It feels like you’re distancing yourself from us”), expressing your desire to support them with what’s going on, and floating the idea that sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone with an outside perspective.
Therapy has begun to have less stigma associated with it, but it can still be useful to present it as a preventative rather than a fix. It’s healthier to bring the car in for a tune-up when you start to hear a weird noise rather than waiting for it to break down.
Is therapy right for my teen?
Therapy can be helpful to everyone, though it’s up to your teen whether they are ready to take in the support that’s available. Obviously you can’t force your teen to talk – either to you, or to me.
If they resist the idea of therapy, get curious about what exactly it is that they’re averse to. Maybe what you’re worried about is a temporary concern that they can handle. Do they not want their friends to know, or do they think if they’re in therapy it means something is wrong with them? Gently validate these concerns and reassure them that they don’t have to go through whatever is going on on their own.
If your teen is not interested in therapy and you are very concerned, you may consider therapy for yourself to better support them and relieve the burden of your worries, or consider doing family therapy together with them, if that feels appropriate.
What are the signs my teen needs therapy?
Teens who are struggling can show persistent changes in their social and family relationships, including withdrawal. Some teens may start refusing to go to school or activities, have a drop in their grades, exhibit sleep disturbances, report unexplained somatic issues like stomachaches, or engage in high risk behaviors.
Keeping in mind that teens’ emotions tend to be more intense due to hormones, a marked change in emotionality may be cause for concern.
The most clear signs are self-harm (i.e. cutting) or suicidality. Symptoms are “clinically significant” and definitely merit pursuing therapy if they persist over time and are interfering with daily functioning.
How much does teen therapy cost? Does insurance cover it?
Most of my clients have 60%-80% of their fee reimbursed by their out-of-network insurance coverage. My practice is private pay, which means I am an out-of-network provider and am not in-network with any insurance plans.
My fee is $225 per session with a limited number of sliding scale spots available for those with demonstrated financial need.
See a deep dive on payment and insurance here: Logistics
How is teen therapy different from adult therapy?
Teens have adult bodies with developing brains and less life experience. I approach teens’ issues with the same respect I give to adults’ issues, keeping in mind that what’s most pressing during adolescence can be different than when we’re older. Social issues are of utmost importance, the emotional highs are higher and the lows are lower, and figuring out who you are and forging a life path can feel high-stakes and confusing.
The involvement of parents is also a big difference between teen and adult therapy. As a teen therapist, I ride the line between keeping what my teen clients say private and involving parents when it is clinically necessary for their well-being.
What ages do you work with?
I work with teens age 13 and up.
Is what my teen says kept confidential?
My priority with teen clients is to maintain their trust and keep things as confidential as possible. It makes sense that parents would want to know how things are going with their teen, especially if it is not immediately apparent in their behavior at home. I can give a high-level progress report to parents upon request, though I will not share specific details of our sessions. Developmentally, the teenage years are about developing more autonomy and individual identity, and it’s important that therapy supports this. If your teen is in danger and exhibiting extremely risky behavior that would cause imminent injury or death, I will share this with you immediately.
