As a psychologist, I am a huge advocate for therapy. Most adults (between 50-70%) who participate in therapy report improvement, and we seem to be entering a time where adults are more willing to talk openly about their therapy experiences with friends and family. In this age of therapy and self-improvement, it can seem natural to want to seek out therapy when you worry about your relationship with your teenage son. And while therapy can do wonders for certain aspects of mental health, there are limitations. When I was an active therapist, I would frequently have parents bring their children in and during the initial session say, “I need you to fix him.” Of course I would have to immediately explain that this is not how therapy works. In a similar vein, it might seem natural to take your teenage son, with whom you are having conflict, and march in to therapy saying, “I need you to fix our relationship.” A recent study out of Australia
Thanks, Jen! Happy that you want to share. Feels controversial, as a child psychologist, to make this argument but I also think it’s necessary since we are all trying to figure out what’s “best.” So glad it resonated!
This is so, SO good! I'm going to share it in my Building Boys FB group & via Building Boys social media channels.
Thanks, Jen! Happy that you want to share. Feels controversial, as a child psychologist, to make this argument but I also think it’s necessary since we are all trying to figure out what’s “best.” So glad it resonated!