Therapy for Teens

Helping Teens navigate life’s complexity, not just symptoms

Building Capacity for a Meaningful Life

You’ve brought your teen this far, and soon they will be an adult. You may be wondering whether they are ready to navigate the responsibilities, autonomy, and growth of adult life. Perhaps you notice signs of anxiety or depression. Perhaps your teen is struggling with identity, relationships, or finding places where they truly thrive. School may feel challenging now or have been a struggle for some time. You want relief for your teen, but more than that, you want them to gain confidence in who they are and their ability to navigate life.

At Tide Pools, we love collaborating with teens amidst the excitement, turmoil, and profound changes of adolescence. We don’t place your teen in a box. Instead, we support them in clarifying and affirming who they are. We recognize the challenges of adult life, and we help your teen face those realities with guidance and care. Most of all, we believe in the transformative power of a trusting relationship—where your teen feels seen, heard, and understood, and increasingly confident to enter the world.

What we help with

We help teens and their families understand and respond to challenges in ways that promote growth and connection. We often work with:

  • Depression and anxiety

  • Neurodivergence (autism, ADHD)

  • Trauma and posttraumatic stress

  • Gifted and twice exceptional (2e) teens

  • LGBT teens

  • Clarifying needs, wants and priorities and communicating these to others

  • Building capacity for self-advocacy - learning how to get what they need

  • Implicit beliefs, unconscious factors, and emotional patterns that lead to conflict and inauthenticity

  • Difficulty accessing and expressing emotions

  • Caring for sensitivity and overwhelm

  • Unsustainable coping practices (e.g. overwork, avoidance, substances)

  • Struggles in friendships, partnerships, and family relationships

  • Perfectionism and people-pleasing

  • Expanding curiosity, empathy, and creativity

  • Grieving the loss of childhood

  • Building courage and confidence to face adulthood

  • Navigating changing family relationships and roles

How we help

  • Build a trustworthy, collaborative relationship that supports deeper work

  • Amplifying quieter feelings and conflicts so that we may work with them

  • Develop the capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflict, so new insights and pathways can emerge

  • Recognize and shift repeated patterns—like overwork, self-criticism, or perfectionism

  • Communicate and negotiate boundaries with greater clarity and confidence

  • “Try on” different facets of identity and ways of being

  • Explore existential concerns and reconnect with meaning and purpose

  • Understand and work through fears or defenses that block authentic feeling and experience

  • Strengthen agency, self-confidence, and capacity to self-advocate

  • Integrate identity, personal history, and community experiences into a fuller sense of self

  • Expand emotional range—learning to notice, put words to, and use feelings as valuable information

  • Encourage play, creativity, self-compassion, and enjoyment of life