by Lauren Goodman | Aug 7, 2026 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Recognizing the Signs Your Teen Needs Anxiety Therapy
If your teen seems overwhelmed by worry, it can be heartbreaking to watch. As a parent, you may wonder if what they’re experiencing is normal stress or something more serious. What are the signs your teen needs anxiety therapy? How do you know if it is serious enough for therapy? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you decide when it’s time to reach out for professional support.
What Are the Signs Your Teen Needs Anxiety Therapy?
1. They Can’t Stop Worrying
It is normal for teenagers to feel anxious about a big test, an important game, or a special event. Those worries usually go away once the situation passes. However, if your teen worries all the time about things like school, friendships, or the future, they may be struggling to control their anxiety. When anxiety sticks around and starts affecting everyday life, talking to a therapist can be a great next step.
2. Stress Is Affecting Their Sleep
Sleep is vital, especially for teenagers. Losing sleep because of anxiety is often a sign your teen needs anxiety therapy. If your teenager has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep because their mind won’t stop racing, there are a few things you can try together.
Encourage them to write down their worries before bed along with a simple one-sentence plan for each concern. Sometimes putting worries on paper helps the brain relax. Prayer, meditation, reading, or other calming bedtime routines can also help. If your teen still feels overwhelmed night after night and cannot quiet their thoughts, it may be time to seek counseling.
3. They’re Having Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are a sign that anxiety has become overwhelming. They can cause physical symptoms like a racing heart, chest tightness, shortness of breath, sweating, hot flashes, nausea, or vomiting.
If your teenager is having panic attacks, it is important to seek professional help. If they’re dealing with panic disorder, a therapist can teach them ways to manage anxiety, and in some cases, a psychiatrist may also recommend medication.
4. Social Situations Feel Overwhelming
Does your teen replay every conversation, worrying they said something wrong? Do they avoid social situations because they feel too nervous to be themselves? Teens with social anxiety often want friendships but feel frozen when talking to other people. They may overthink every interaction and struggle to relax around their peers. Social anxiety is often a key sign your teen needs anxiety therapy.
Because healthy friendships are an important part of growing up, getting help for social anxiety can make a big difference in your teen’s confidence and emotional well-being.
5. They Ask for Help
This may seem obvious, but one of the clearest signs your teen needs anxiety therapy is when your teen asks for counseling. Sometimes parents assume their child is just going through a phase or only wants therapy because a friend is going. While that can happen, many teenagers ask for help because they have been struggling for a long time and finally feel ready to say something.
Take your teen seriously when they ask for support. Reaching out early can prevent anxiety from becoming even more overwhelming.
Trust Your Instincts as a Parent
Parenting is hard, and there is no instruction manual. Every child is different, which means there is no perfect answer for when anxiety deserves professional help. If you have noticed one or multiple of these signs, your teen may need anxiety therapy. Trust your instincts. Asking questions and gathering information is always a good first step.
If you’re unsure whether counseling is the right choice, don’t hesitate to reach out. We are always happy to talk through your concerns. Asking questions is free, and sometimes a simple conversation can help you decide what is best for your teen.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Aug 5, 2026 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Understanding Back to School Anxiety in Teens
At the end of summer, I start getting more calls from parents who are worried about their teenager’s anxiety. Back to school anxiety is pretty common. Right when school is about to start, stress levels go up. It makes sense. Teens are going from a few months of freedom back to social pressure, schoolwork, and structure. That shift can feel overwhelming.
Why Back to School Anxiety Happens
Back to school anxiety can show up for different reasons. Some teens worry about grades. Others worry about friends, fitting in, or even just getting back into a routine. Understanding what’s underneath your teen’s anxiety is the first step in helping them.
1. Make an Academic Plan
Some teens feel anxious because they work very hard and expect a heavy workload. Others feel anxious because they struggle to stay on top of schoolwork and worry about falling behind.
Some teens need help learning that every assignment doesn’t need to be perfect. This causes assignments to take a very long time leading to stress and burnout. On the other hand, some need to learn how to work harder or study more effectively. Talking through a simple plan before school starts can make a big difference.
2. Talk About Social Anxiety
Oftentimes back to school anxiety stems from worries about fitting in. Teens want to be liked, and many want to be popular. Others feel anxiety around dating or friendships. These worries often grow stronger as school begins again. Talking openly about these pressures can help your teen feel less alone.
3. Prepare for Routine Changes
Other times back to school anxiety comes from worrying about how things will change at home once school starts. Over the summer, they’ve likely stayed up late, spent more time with friends, and had fewer responsibilities. When school starts, expectations shift—earlier bedtimes, homework, and less screen time.
This can lead to conflict. One helpful approach is to give your teen as much responsibility as is appropriate for their age. For example, if you tell your teen that they are expected to wake up on their own, you no longer need to constantly nag them about that. They will have to learn to set an alarm or go to bed earlier. Because you no longer need to nag them, they will feel less irritation.
4. Acknowledge Boredom and Frustration
Some teens feel anxious about being bored in class. Sitting for hours and listening to topics they don’t enjoy can feel draining. I remember feeling this way about math. Sitting through long classes felt like torture, and it definitely affected my mood.
You may not be able to change their schedule, but you can let your teen know you understand. Sometimes feeling understood is enough to ease some of the stress.
Back to School Anxiety Can Show Up in Unexpected Ways
Sometimes anxiety doesn’t show up directly. Your teen might suddenly seem stressed about sports, friendships, or other things. Often, underneath it all, they are worried about going back to school.
Talking Is the Best Way to Reduce Back to School Anxiety
The most important thing you can do is talk to your teen. Help them figure out what’s really bothering them. When they understand their anxiety, you can work together to take simple steps to manage it.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Jul 28, 2026 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Why Learning How to Improve Study Habits Can Help Lower Homework Stress
Feeling overwhelmed by homework? Learning how to improve study habits can make school feel less stressful and help you get more done in less time. Better study habits are not about working harder all night—they are about learning how to work smarter, stay organized, and make your time count.
If you’re feeling burned out on homework and the never-ending pile of worksheets, essays, math problems, projects, and labs, you’re not alone. I remember those days! Sometimes I had so much homework that I spent an entire Sunday just trying to catch up. On really bad days, I stayed up way too late trying to finish everything, only to wake up early the next morning and keep working before school. At some point or another, everyone feels sick of homework.
The good news is that small changes to the way you study can make a big difference. When you learn better ways to manage your time and focus your energy, homework becomes less overwhelming and you can have more time for the things you enjoy.
1. Taking the Right Classes
Challenge yourself and always do your best. At the same time though, know your limits. Even if you are capable of taking every AP class available, that doesn’t mean you should. For some students, taking too many advanced classes creates so much stress that their grades actually suffer because they cannot perform at their best. In addition to this, some classes come with so much homework that students start to hate learning. Learning how to improve study habits often starts with moderating your workload.
Remember, lower homework stress can sometimes lead to better-quality work. It’s also important to remember that the name of your college does not guarantee your future success. It works the opposite way too. Not getting into a top university doesn’t mean you are a failure or that you won’t do well in life. What matters most is what you do with the opportunities you have. No matter where you go to school, you can stand out by building relationships with professors, working on projects, and getting involved. Whether you attend a community college or a highly competitive university, your effort and dedication matter. Once you’re a few years out of school, employers usually care about your skills, work-ethic, and experience most anyway, not which school you went to.
Take classes that help you reach your goals but don’t overdo it. There is more to life than academic success.
2. Work While You’re Working
This is one of the most simple and the most helpful ways to improve study habits. When you sit down to do homework, focus on getting it done. Avoid distractions like your phone, television, or anything else that pulls your attention away. If you need to, find a quiet space to work or ask your parents to take your phone until you are done so that you can focus better. When you stay focused, you can finish your work much faster. You will also remember more of what you learn, which means you will not have to spend as much time studying later.
3. Study Smarter, Not Harder
Many students do not know how to study effectively. Good study habits are not about spending endless hours looking at a textbook. They are about using your time wisely. Focus most of your energy on the things you do not understand yet. For topics you already know, a quick review may be enough. Learning how to improve study habits means finding study methods that work best for you.
4. Study Regularly Instead of Cramming
Cramming the night before a test usually does not work well. It can also hurt your sleep, and being tired makes it harder to focus and remember information. You will perform better when you give yourself enough time to learn the material and get plenty of rest.
Improving Study Habits Can Help You Build a Less Stressful Future
From a therapist’s perspective, following these tips can make a big difference in your stress levels. My goal is for you to enjoy your life while also learning how to work hard and handle challenges. As you grow into adulthood, you will face pressure and responsibilities. Learning good work habits now can help you handle those challenges without creating unnecessary stress. School is not just about grades. It is also a chance to learn how to work efficiently, manage your time, and take care of yourself.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
\Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Jul 17, 2026 | Parenting Techniques
Learning How to Communicate With Your Teen
Have you ever wondered why your teenager doesn’t talk to you anymore? Do you miss the days when they came home excited to tell you everything that happened at school? Maybe you have friends whose teens seem to share everything with them, and you wish your relationship looked more like that. Learning how to communicate with your teen starts with becoming the kind of listener they feel safe talking to.
How to Communicate With Your Teen Without Judgment
Every week I sit across from dozens of adolescents in my counseling office. Early in therapy, I always ask whether they feel close to their parents. Some say yes, while others say no. Of the teens who say they feel close to their parents, nearly all have one thing in common: they don’t feel judged when they share what’s going on in their lives. The teens who don’t feel close to their parents often describe the opposite. They feel criticized, corrected, or lectured whenever they open up, so eventually they stop sharing.
It’s hard for us as parents to honestly evaluate ourselves. When learning how to communicate with your teen, you must ask yourself, ‘Am I being too judgmental?’ ‘Is the advice I mean to be helpful coming across as questioning the way my teen is handling the situation?’ ‘Am I distracted when my teen tries to talk to me?’ These are difficult questions, but answering them honestly is the first step toward having a more open relationship with your teen.
Unless they ask for it, try to refrain from giving your teen too much advice. If you have something you want to tell them, ask if they want to hear it first and then respect their decision. We need to guide our children when they’re making poor choices or talking about something harmful. But if your teenager is simply telling you how difficult a test was, they probably won’t want you to give them study tips. Often they simply want someone to listen.
Reflective Listening
For most people, reflective listening is difficult because our natural instinct is to help. When someone we love is struggling, we want to solve the problem for them. Unfortunately, this often backfires with teenagers. Many teens interpret unsolicited advice as criticism, even when it comes from a loving place. As a result, they become less likely to share in the future.
How to Communicate With Your Teen Through Better Listening
Effective listening begins by minimizing distractions. That may sound obvious, but it makes a tremendous difference. Put your phone down, pause or turn off the television, sit with your teen, and give them your full attention. It’s okay to ask them to do the same. Also remember that not every teenager communicates the same way. Many teens, especially boys, actually talk more openly when they aren’t making direct eye contact. Sitting side by side while driving or taking a walk together may lead to a much deeper conversation than sitting across from one another.
If you want your teen to keep talking, resist the urge to immediately comment or give advice. You don’t have to approve of everything they say, but you also don’t have to evaluate every situation they describe. For example, if your teenager tells you about something one of their friends did, simply nod, listen, and encourage them to continue.
There are certainly situations where you need to step in—such as if a friend is talking about suicide or another serious safety concern. But if they’re telling you about a classmate who cheated on homework, try not to immediately label that teen as a bad friend. Cheating is wrong, but there may be fear or desperation to improve a grade behind that choice. Your goal in that moment is to keep the conversation open, not to pass judgment on someone your teen knows. This is one of the keys to learning how to communicate with your teen.
Be Patient With the Process
If you don’t currently have a very open relationship with your teenager, don’t lose heart. Strong communication takes time to build. Be patient, stay consistent, and keep showing your teen that you are a safe person to talk to. More often than not, teenagers want their parents’ love, attention, and support. Be patient, stay consistent, and keep showing your teen that you are a safe person to talk to. Over time, those small moments of listening without judgment build trust, and trust is what leads to deeper conversations.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Jul 17, 2026 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
How to Help Your Teen Overcome a Phobia
Watching your child struggle with a phobia (also known as a simple phobia) can be heartbreaking. You know their fear doesn’t make logical sense, but to them it feels completely real. Helping your teen overcome a phobia takes patience, understanding, and the right support. As a therapist, I’ve helped many teens work through phobias. As someone who experienced two phobias myself, I also know firsthand how overwhelming they can be. One of my phobias was a fear of sleeping away from home, and I want to share that experience because it is more relatable for kids and teens.
How My Phobia Started
When I was 8 years old, I used to spend the night at my friend Tracy’s house. She was my best friend at the time. We spent hours making up games, creating our own “newspapers,” and putting on plays that probably drove our parents nuts. One night I couldn’t fall asleep. Tracy always left Nickelodeon on throughout the night. I watched show after show while becoming more and more anxious because I wasn’t sleeping. I knew I probably could have fallen asleep if the television had been turned off, but Tracy (who was very bossy) had made it clear I wasn’t allowed to touch it because she couldn’t sleep without it.
The next morning I went home completely exhausted and emotionally drained. The following weekend I tried sleeping at Tracy’s house again, but I ended up calling my parents to come get me. From then on, the same thing happened almost every time I tried to spend the night somewhere else. It gradually developed into a form of separation anxiety that was only relieved if I knew I could be home and in my own bed by 8:30 that night.
Helping Your Teen Overcome a Phobia: Two Effective Approaches
There are two well-established ways of helping your teen overcome a phobia. Both involve facing the fear instead of avoiding it, but they differ in how quickly they do so. While flooding (the first approach) usually works faster, gradual exposure (the second approach) is more gentle and your teen is less likely to fight you when you use this method.
Method #1
The first approach is called flooding. This means facing the fear all at once, allowing the anxiety to rise, and staying in the situation until it naturally begins to come back down. It is extremely uncomfortable, but it can be very effective at getting rid of the phobia quickly.
Method #2
The second approach you can use when helping your teen overcome a phobia is called gradual exposure. Rather than confronting the biggest fear immediately, your child works through a series of smaller, manageable steps. Each step is repeated until it no longer creates much anxiety before moving on to the next one.
For example, if your teenager is afraid of sleeping away from home like I was, gradual exposure might look something like this:
- Visiting a friend’s house for an hour.
- Staying through dinner.
- Staying until bedtime but going home to sleep.
- Sleeping over with the understanding that a parent will pick them up early in the morning.
- Spending a full night away from home.
- Repeating sleepovers regularly until the anxiety fades.
Whenever your teen completes one step, next time they move on to the next one. You can apply the same method to other types of phobias. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety overnight. The goal is to gradually teach the brain that the feared situation is actually safe.
My Experience With Flooding
I wish my parents had known about the gradual approach. Instead, after several years of this fear, we used flooding. They told me that when I decided to spend the night somewhere, there would be no coming home no matter how anxious I became. They arranged for me to stay with a trusted family friend. I cried. I panicked. It was one of the hardest nights I can remember. Then morning came. I still remember how proud I felt thinking, “I’m finally over my fear of spending the night away from home.”
Why Repetition Matters When Helping Your Teen Overcome a Phobia
Unfortunately, I wasn’t over it. The next time I spent the night somewhere else, the fear came rushing back. I couldn’t believe it. I felt incredibly discouraged. My parents again insisted I stay the night, and while it was still difficult, it was slightly easier than the first time. In total, it took about 11 sleepovers before the anxiety finally disappeared. Even after that, if I went several months without spending the night away from home, I could feel the fear beginning to creep back in. To keep it from returning, I had to continue sleeping away from home about once a month for a while.
Consistency Is Key
One thing I hope you take away from my story is that there is nothing “simple” about a simple phobia. I actually dislike that term because it minimizes how disruptive these fears can become. My phobia kept me from enjoying birthday sleepovers, team sleepovers, late nights at friends’ houses, and even summer camp, despite the fact that I still went.
Whether you choose flooding or gradual exposure, consistency is essential. The natural temptation is to avoid fear whenever anxiety becomes overwhelming. Unfortunately, avoidance teaches the brain that the situation really is dangerous, making the phobia even stronger. Instead, encourage your child to face the fear one step at a time, celebrate each success, and continue practicing long after the anxiety starts to improve. Over time, the brain learns that the feared situation is safe, and the fear begins to lose its grip. Helping your teen overcome a phobia is rarely quick or easy, but it is absolutely possible. With patience, consistency, and plenty of encouragement, most teens can learn to face fears that once felt impossible to overcome.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
