Therapy For College Students/Young Adults
Do You Feel Overwhelmed By All The Pressures Of Adulthood?
Are you scared of what the future holds and unsure of what path to take?
Do you find yourself having to make adult decisions for the first time?
While everyone else is making headway in life, does it seem like you’re still stuck on the sidelines?
Maybe you feel lost and anxious because there are so many life transitions to navigate and no one to help you get through them. You might be dealing with a lot of firsts—your first apartment, your first real job, or your first major heartbreak. Although you wish you had more guidance and support, you may feel embarrassed to ask for help. You probably want someone trustworthy who could walk with you through this chaotic time of life.
You Might Ask Yourself: Who Am I? What Do I Really Want In Life?
After all, you have all this newfound independence—now what do you do with it? How do you figure out what steps to take and what to do with your future? All this uncertainty can lead to deeper questions about who you are and what kind of people you want to surround yourself with. To complicate things, most of your old friends may have taken different paths and fallen out of the picture. It’s like you have to start from scratch and create an entirely new support system.
You probably feel like you’re out in uncharted territory, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. As a therapist, I specialize in helping young adults improve their mental health, work through life transitions, and become the best version of themselves. I’m confident that I can help you do the same.
Young People Nowadays Are Plagued By Unrealistic Expectations
Social media tells young adults that they need to look beautiful, be popular, make lots of money, and have their lives together. But with an increasingly complex world, unstable job market, and volatile economy, these expectations just aren’t realistic. They cause so many young people to spiral down and lose themselves in comparison culture—they feel like everyone else is succeeding and they’re the only ones missing out.
Additionally, many young adults aren’t used to living without parental support and guidance. Their parents may have handled most of their daily tasks, such as doing laundry, scheduling doctor’s appointments, or dealing with car troubles. Many of them feel too ashamed or overwhelmed to ask for help with these issues. They feel like they should be able to handle everything themselves.
Becoming A Young Adult Often Means Starting Over Socially
After all, a lot of young adults are used to having a wider social support system to fall back on. But once they graduate high school or college, making social connections is so much harder. When they deal with breakups, grief and loss, and anxiety or depression, they usually don’t have as many people they can turn to.
This is why therapy is so important for young adults. It’s a chance for them to have a compassionate and supportive guide who can journey with them and help them manage all the ups and downs of young adulthood.
Therapy Can Empower Young Adults To Find Their Purpose And Unlock Their Full Potential
Growing up is a trial-and-error process. Taking chances and bouncing back from mistakes is a normal part of learning about how life works. Sadly, many young people didn’t grow up in environments where they felt allowed to get things wrong. As a therapist, I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to make mistakes. I want to help you unlearn perfectionistic tendencies, embrace who you are, and be kinder to yourself as you move forward in life.
What To Expect In Young Adult Counseling Sessions
Above all, therapy gives young adults a safe space to explore coming-of-age issues and discuss their anxieties, joys, and sorrows without any fear of judgment. This is a place where you can be yourself unashamedly. I’ll help you normalize your situation so that you know you’re not alone and help you break down complex issues into manageable parts. You’ll learn skills for overcoming anxiety, reducing burnout, increasing independence, and improving your goal-planning.
On a deeper level, counseling for young adults can help you figure out what kind of relationship values are most important to you and what you want in a partner. It can also help you connect with your purpose, explore what you stand for, and answer other questions about your identity. You’ll learn to get in touch with your innermost self and make decisions that are true to who you are.
Tailoring My Approach To Young Adult Therapy
I take a solution-focused approach to therapy. Working together, you and I will come up with practical solutions to everyday problems in your life. You’ll gain new stress management skills and new strategies for navigating financial and interpersonal challenges.
I also use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an approach that explores the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT can help you overcome negative thinking habits like catastrophizing, perfectionism, and black-or-white thinking (“If I don’t get that job, it means I’m a failure”). It allows you to step back and see your situation in a more realistic light instead of spiraling down when things go wrong.
In the end, young adulthood involves lots of challenges and growing pains. Mistakes will be made, but that’s okay. My goal is to give you the freedom to make mistakes and the skillset to handle whatever life throws your way. I’ll teach you to build grit, confidence, and resilience as you embark on this new chapter of your life.
You May Have Some Concerns About Young Adult Therapy…
I’m afraid I’ll be judged for not having my life together.
There is no shame here. There is also no pressure to have it all together. No one has their life figured out in their late teens and early twenties (or even later!), because they usually run into twists and turns right when they thought they had everything figured out. Then they have to tweak their plans to get back on track. After all, life is always unpredictable and never follows a perfectly set plan. Therapy can help you learn to live comfortably in the uncertainty and be okay with not having your life together.
I think I should be able to handle these changes alone.
No successful athlete ever gets to where they are without the help of numerous coaches and trainers. Mental health is no different. We are social creatures and we need supportive relationships in order to thrive. As your therapist, I’ll provide a listening ear, emotional support, and the guidance you need to achieve your hopes and dreams. You don’t have to do it all alone.
How long will therapy take?
There is no exact timetable. It all depends on what works best for your situation. Many of my young adult clients see me for a little while and discontinue therapy once their anxiety or depression lessens and they feel better about tackling their issues. Then, when another major life transition comes their way, they start meeting with me again. In this way, you are welcome to have me as a guide and a resource throughout different times in your life.
Let Me Help You Walk Boldly And Fearlessly Into This New Chapter Of Your Life
Life as a young adult often feels like being in limbo between two different worlds. On one hand you’re leaving the stability of your parents and on the other you’re an adult having to make important choices. Therapy can help you navigate between these two worlds boldly and fearlessly. To get started, you can choose from the options below to schedule an appointment.
I provide therapy for young adults in Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Florida.
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