How to Use Psychology with Adolescents

adolescents

Adolescence may be a challenging time. It is rife with adjustments, brand-new encounters, and feelings that may influence the emergence of health issues. As a result, psychology for teenagers is crucial because of their often troublesome attitudes. When we become aware that there could be an issue, we explain how to apply it.

Understanding and patience are essential. We must recall our own youth as parents and professionals in order to sympathize with the young person. They must trust us and understand that they are in a secure environment. It’s natural for teenagers to avoid sharing their emotions and become hermetic at this age. We must concentrate on solutions rather than the problem itself because people may feel guilty or humiliated about discussing it.

Because teenagers are unpredictable, some skills are required to apply psychology to them.

 

POSSIBLE TEENAGE DISORDERS

Adolescence may bring on a wide range of emotional and social issues, many of which are not pathologies. On the other hand, if we see that certain signals are recurring, we could be facing a cry for assistance. When we realize how bad it may be, we must turn to adolescent psychology.

Anxiety

Anxiety may strike any of us at any given time during the day. But if this anxiety persists or becomes excessive, it may develop into an anxiety disorder. Teenagers that struggle with anxiety may be insecure, perfectionists, or fixated on winning others’ favor. They lack confidence and experience anxiety in many circumstances. Anxiety crises can happen, and they often come on suddenly and last for a short while. Shortness of breath, sweating, palpitations, and chest aches are the symptoms.

Depression

Daily living with depression results in overwhelming and continuous melancholy. Problems with psychological, functional, and physical health may result from this. Teenagers might experience emotional ups and downs due to things like academic performance, failed relationships, or physical changes.

There may be emotional changes, including feelings of extreme melancholy. The youngster being agitated at home might be a warning flag. Additionally, if he loses interest in their friends, family, or even themselves.

 

EATING DISORDERS IN TEENAGERS

Adolescents may experience issues with self-esteem due to physical changes. An extreme obsession with appearances can progress into major health issues, including anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. If we see any symptoms, we need to see a doctor right away since they might be very dangerous. We list a few of them below:

Bulimia

Bulimia is defined as excessive food consumption throughout the day. To counteract such consumption, vomiting or laxatives are used. They may also engage in excessive, even compulsive, physical activity. We must be cautious if we see that a teenager, for example, fasts for an extended amount of time, avoid eating in front of others, or slips away after eating.

Anorexia

Anorexics are characterized by an excessive dread of gaining weight, even if they are under the usual minimum weight. They have a distorted impression of their physical form and are perpetually overweight. Aside from severe weight loss, some symptoms may include the lack of menstrual periods in females. If you chat with them and discover that they are concerned with the calorie composition of meals or refuse to maintain a normal weight. They might also be concerning indications if they are consistently chilly or energetic.

Binge

One sign of a binge eating disorder may be consuming a lot of food while also feeling out of control. eating despite not being hungry or even when it makes you feel unhappy. He may be hiding food or sneaking away to eat, which are red flags. We must be vigilant since binge eating can result in issues like anorexia or bulimia, so we must keep this in mind.

 

WHEN TO VISIT A THERAPIST

 

Teenagers may sometimes make communicating with them challenging. It is typical for children of this age not to express their fears to their parents. Since a lot of the time, not even the young person is aware of the issue, it can be challenging to recognize that there is a problem.

Since the personality has only just been established at this point, it is crucial to find it quickly. If you have an anxiety disorder and let it go untreated, chances are good that you grew up modeling an anxious demeanor. If we can solve it, it can have a really good effect on how people feel about their ability to overcome challenges and how they model healthy personalities.

There are several signals that might set off the alert, some of which are more prominent than others.

 

Questionable conduct

If we see that the young person consumes a substance, such as alcohol, on a regular basis, it might be an indication that he has a problem. Changes in legislation and hostile conduct might indicate that anything is wrong with them.

 

Attitude Changes

If the child becomes furious regularly when he/she wasn’t previously, it might be an indication that something is wrong. They may spend a lot of time alone in their comfortable room. Also undergoing changes are their academic results. The teenagers should talk about their anxieties or distractions since they may impair their motivation and self-esteem.

 

Obsessions Everybody has obsessions, but some of them can develop into OCD. We must thus keep an eye on its development. It’s typical for teenagers to conceal their interests for a while. They feel the urge to perform particular actions repeatedly as a coping technique for insecurity.

KEYS TO CONNECTING WITH TEENEAGERS

 

Given the challenges of this age, as well as the crises that teenagers face as a consequence of the constant changes and novelty that things symbolize for them, it is vital to consider the following keys in order to communicate effectively and prevent conflicts:

  • Let them go exploring. They define their personality, tastes, and friendships at this time. It is important to remember that they will constantly change their thoughts and likes. It is employed as an empowering technique during the psychological intervention for the minor to work on their self-concept.
  • Listen carefully. When they reveal a dispute or circumstance that disturbs them, kids should be encouraged to share their ideas and emotions without judging, correcting, or condemning them. As a result, even if the teenager is accompanied by his/her parents, emphasis must be focused on he/she in psychological consultations, explaining his/her view and how he/she feels.
  • Accept their expectations. Allowing kids to make their own judgments as long as they do not endanger others, even if they have different interests or opinions, requires them to learn to select and make errors. This element can be worked on with families if, for example, coexisting disputes emerge as a result of the adolescent’s conduct.
  • Apologize. If the parents see that they have got it wrong, they must explain and teach the teenager that it is OK to make a mistake and correct it; this will help the adolescent develop.
It is critical that the teenager feels accepted, understood, and believes the professional will assist him/her in better understanding and expressing his/her feelings in order for him/her to feel better about himself. The psychologist must consider the adolescent’s individual requirements, however, he can also satisfy some parental requests. Focusing on the intra-family connection creates an atmosphere of trust, respect, and autonomy. This allows us to provide the circumstances for teenagers to progress into the next stage of development effectively. If you need help with your teenager, do not hesitate to contact me in order to help you personally, you always can call me at  (800) 593-6109 or  Request an Appointment Online by filling out the contact form.