Successful Therapy for Teens - What Matters?

I often get asked from my supervisees what interventions I use that are so successful with teens that I counsel. Here is my reply: Close your eyes for a moment and remember a time you were doing something a certain way. Now, imagine someone who corrected you and gave you feedback. Can you remember a positive experience and a negative experience? What was the difference? More often than not the answer I get is how they told me and my relationship to them. Well, this is the answer.

The anxiety behind change is intense. Research shows that the biggest factor of change in therapy is the Therapeutic Alliance. This means the relationship and level of trust with your therapist.

If you are curious about your teen having a good outcome in therapy ask them these questions: Do you feel comfortable talking to your therapist? Are you able talk freely in sessions? Do I feel relieved after a session there? If the answers are YES then it is likely that they are on the road to positive changes and healing.