by Lauren Goodman | Sep 24, 2025 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Understanding School Refusal in Teens
As a therapist working with teens, I often see cases of school refusal in teens. Some may attend school occasionally, but for parents it can feel like a constant uphill battle to get them there. While school refusal can come from different causes—like drug use, defiance, or anxiety—the most common factor I see is anxiety.
Why Anxiety Fuels School Refusal in Teens
Anxiety is an overwhelming fear of something that might happen in the future. Some teens worry about being judged by peers, while others fear failing tests or facing certain classes. For some, the dread of school feels unbearable. I worked with one teen who was bullied every day on the way to class. When he sought help from teachers, peers mocked him for being a “tattle tale.” His anxiety grew so intense that school itself became unmanageable, leading to school refusal.
What Parents Can Do About School Refusal in Teens
If your teen is refusing school, the first step is to uncover the root cause. School refusal isn’t just “I don’t feel like it”—there’s usually something deeper going on. Once you identify the trigger, sit down together and make a plan. If it’s anxiety-driven, helping your teen regain a sense of control over the situation can make a big difference.
If talking it through isn’t enough, connect with the school counselor or seek outside professional support. Teens usually can’t overcome school refusal on their own. Avoidance makes fears grow larger, but most young people don’t yet have the tools to push through what feels terrifying. Therapy helps teens face their fears and eventually get over them.
Walking the Line Between Comfort and Structure
Helping your teen through school refusal requires both compassion and firmness. You’ll need to be a source of comfort while also holding firm boundaries about attendance. It can be heartbreaking to send them when you know how awful it feels, but consistently allowing them to stay home only reinforces the cycle of fear.
Supporting Teens Through the Struggle
Sometimes loving your teen well means walking with them through emotional pain, not shielding them from it. With your support and consistency, they can learn to face their fears and slowly rebuild confidence.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Sep 19, 2025 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
When Teens Are Feeling Left Out
Being left out is one of the toughest feelings for tweens and teens. Peer exclusion can hurt deeply, leaving teens confused and sad. One 12-year-old girl came to counseling because she didn’t know how to fit in. Her classmates would clear the lunch table whenever she sat down. She was completely delightful, which made it hard to understand why this happened. I had to ask, “Why do some kids end up as outcasts?”
Why Teens Feel Left Out
Exclusion is most common in middle school and early high school, especially for girls. Teens often fall into three social types:
- Assertive kids: Confident, sometimes aggressive, and often popular. They stand up for themselves and may intimidate others a little, making them the “queen bees.”
- Neutral kids: Quieter teens who are happy with their close friend group. They focus on hobbies like sports, band, or theater and don’t seek popularity.
- Teens who get left out: Sensitive teens who care deeply about others’ opinions. They might cry when teased, feel self-conscious for a long time, and try to gain favor with the popular kids.
It’s Not Forever
Being left out doesn’t last forever. Teens grow, develop their strengths, and find where they belong. Middle and high school can be insecure times, but these challenges often build character. Remind your teen that wisdom develops from tough experiences, and compassion develops from rejection. Help them see the bigger picture. This is important for teens feeling left out to remember.
How to Help Your Teen
Encourage your teen to spend time with friends who truly value them. Gently remind your teen that if they’re feeling excluded, there are many other kids who would gladly welcome them, no matter their interests or social status. Being around people who genuinely enjoy their company can help your teen feel seen, accepted, and supported.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Aug 8, 2025 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Understanding Why Teens Feel Overwhelmed
What do you do if your teenager seems constantly overwhelmed or stressed? What causes overwhelmed teens to feel the way they do? How can you help?
What Makes Overwhelmed Teens Feel The Way They Do?
Today, many high school students face overwhelming pressure. Honors students are expected to maintain above a 4.0 GPA, play sports, work, and have a social life. Teens are told they need perfect grades, high test scores, and countless extracurriculars to get into college. Even teens with a 3.6 GPA often feel like they’re failing.
Too Much Noise
On top of academic pressure, teens are bombarded by technology. Phones keep them constantly connected through texts, emails, and social media. While staying in touch is nice, this constant stream of notifications adds more stress to their already full plates.
What If You Have An Overwhelmed Teen?
Sometimes this pressure comes from society, sometimes teens place it on themselves, and other times parents unintentionally add to it. Whatever the cause, if your teen feels overwhelmed, it’s important to take action. Here’s what you can do:
Slowing Down Matters
Help your teen understand the value of slowing down. Encourage a day each week free from phones, homework, and sports. Teach them to enjoy simple things like reading a book or walking the dog. When teens learn to pause, they find more satisfaction in what they already have instead of always chasing the next achievement.
Set the Example
If you want to help overwhelmed teens, model balance in your own life. Show them that fun, rest, and relationships matter as much as accomplishments. When you prioritize these things, they will too.
Go Offline
Taking a break from devices isn’t easy. At first, your teen may feel disconnected or anxious. Try going offline with your teen. Setting the example helps both of you reset. When you have your teen take some time off from tech, they will miss out on some social activities. Just support them through the discomfort and help them see that missing out sometimes is healthy.
Keep Activities in Check
In Southern California’s busy culture, it’s tempting to sign teens up for everything. However, an overbooked schedule causes burnout. Encourage them to focus on a few activities that truly benefit them instead of juggling countless activities.
Supporting Overwhelmed Teens
Remind your teen that good grades don’t have to be perfect. Help them understand that contentment is just as valuable as ambition. Cutting back on tech and activities can be painful, but it’s a lot better for your teen in the long run.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Jul 7, 2025 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Why Overcoming Anxiety in Teens Is Important
Overcoming anxiety in teens is essential for helping them grow into confident adults. But how do you do it? To show how anxiety works and how to face it, let’s look at a fictional teen named Brandon who struggles with anxiety.
When Anxiety Makes You Want to Quit
Brandon just started college because he wants to be a teacher. But every time he faces a big test, he gets really anxious. His stomach hurts, he can’t eat, and the panic makes him doubt everything. He even thinks, “Maybe teaching isn’t for me. I was happier before college.” So, to avoid the stress, Brandon quits.
Why Quitting Makes Overcoming Anxiety in Teens Harder
Here’s the issue: the more Brandon avoids tests, the scarier they become. By quitting, he never gets a chance to prove to himself that he can handle it. Later, when he’s calmer, he regrets it. He still dreams of teaching, but now school feels even more overwhelming. And each time he avoids it, the fear gets stronger. This is a common pattern with anxiety—avoiding a fear usually makes it worse over time.
Overcoming Anxiety in Teens by Facing Fears Step by Step
When anxiety makes you want to run the other way, remember: if you give in, the fear usually grows. That doesn’t mean you have to jump into the scariest thing right away. Sometimes all it takes is a plan—and a little support. So how do you handle anxiety without quitting? First, find someone you care about who can guide you, support you, and hold you accountable when you feel like quitting. Then, face your fear one step at a time.
Work Up to It
One tool I use with teens is a “fear ladder.” You start by listing what scares you most, then break it down into smaller, more manageable steps. For Brandon, the ladder might look like this:
- College Finals
- College Mid-terms
- An online mid-term or final
- A college quiz
- An online quiz
- A practice exam on campus
- A practice exam at home
How to Use the Fear Ladder
Brandon would start with the easiest step—a practice test at home—and keep doing it until it doesn’t make him anxious anymore. Then he’d move on to the next step. Over time, he builds confidence. This is the key step in overcoming anxiety in teens.
What If You Get Stuck?
Let’s say Brandon works his way up to taking a real college mid-term but freezes and can’t finish. That’s okay. It just means he needs to break it into smaller steps. He might start by imagining himself taking the test successfully every day. Then, when he’s ready, try again. Small progress is still progress. Overcoming anxiety in teens is not always easy, but remember, you can do it!
Help Your Teen Push Through
If your teen is overwhelmed by anxiety in a specific situation, make them push through it (unless it puts them in danger). Avoiding the problem might bring short-term relief, but it builds long-term fear. By pushing through, they grow stronger and learn they can do hard things. Fortitude is built one step at a time. Let’s help our teens build it now, so they can be successful later.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Jul 7, 2025 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
Why Positive Thinking for Teens Matters
Are you worried your teen is stuck in a negative mindset? Maybe they’re anxious about a project, a test, or an upcoming sports game. When teens focus too much on negative thoughts, it often makes their worries worse. This affects how they feel and behave leading to more stress and anxiety. Fortunately, positive thinking for teens can actually help break this cycle. This will benefit your teen in bigger ways than you might expect.
What Is the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
There’s an idea in psychology called the self-fulfilling prophecy. It means when someone expects something to happen, they often act in ways that make it come true without realizing it.
What This Looks Like
For example, Justin might say, “I’m going to play terribly in my soccer game.” Feeling that way, he might eat candy for comfort or warm up less because he’s distracted by fear. Then, he actually plays worse than usual, which just makes him more anxious next time.
How Positive Thinking for Teens Changes Outcomes
But this works in the opposite direction, too. Positive thinking can lead to better outcomes. When teens expect good results, they often behave more confidently, which lowers anxiety and improves how things turn out.
What This Looks Like
For example, Melissa decides to think positively about her math test. Because of that, she studies with more focus and confidence. She’s also kinder to her parents since she’s less distracted by stress. Her parents respond with encouragement instead of pressure, which reduces her anxiety and helps her do better on the test.
The Power of Positive Thinking in Teens
When teens believe they can accomplish a task, big or small, their mindset improves. This motivation helps them take the steps needed to succeed. While believing alone doesn’t guarantee success, it often leads to better results and less anxiety. Since teens tend to expect negative outcomes, teaching them to focus on positive possibilities can greatly boost their motivation and self-esteem while simultaneously reducing stress.
Encouraging Positive Thinking in Teens Every Day
Positive thinking doesn’t always come naturally—especially for teens. Life can feel overwhelming, and this can make it hard to think positively. However, you can encourage them to see positive thinking as a choice they can make each day. Set an example for your teen by thinking more positively yourself. Even small mindset shifts can reduce anxiety and build confidence over time.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
by Lauren Goodman | Jun 23, 2025 | Teen Anxiety Therapy
What Teen School Anxiety Looks Like
School can be a major source of anxiety for teens. For many, the stress shows up in two big areas: social pressure and academic performance. For some teens, school can feel completely overwhelming. As summer or winter break starts to wrap up, they become very stressed and irritable. Sometimes teens will make up excuses, so they don’t have to go to school. Teen school anxiety is a real struggle for adolescents, and it’s important to do something about it.
10 Tips to Help With Teen School Anxiety
Instead of seeing school as a place to learn, your teen may start to view it as a place where they’re constantly judged. This can cause significant stress and anxiety. The good news is that there are simple, helpful ways to ease teen school anxiety. Here are 10 tips that can make a real difference:
1. Study Ahead—Not Just the Night Before
Spread studying out over the week leading up to a test. Cramming at the last minute only adds stress and leads to burnout. Besides, if you don’t do all your studying last minute you will actually retain information better!
2. Don’t Believe Every Negative Voice
If someone says something unkind, it doesn’t make it true. What your family and God think of you matters way more. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, pray and refocus.
3. Breathe Deep
When anxiety hits—especially during a test—take a few slow, deep breaths. It helps calm your body and your mind.
4. Talk About It: Discussing Teen School Anxiety
Always remember, you don’t have to deal with teen school anxiety alone. Talking to a trusted friend, parent, or counselor can bring real relief.
5. Choose Friends Who Lift You Up
Friends have a big influence on how you feel day to day. Surround yourself with people who encourage you and bring out your best. If you have kind friends you will likely feel a lot happier socially.
6. Build Relationships with Teachers
Just saying hi or asking a question after class can make teachers feel more approachable. This can also help you feel more comfortable in their class, a key element in defeating teen school anxiety.
7. Cut Back on Caffeine
Too much soda or coffee can make anxiety worse. If you’re tired, try going for a quick walk or doing a few jumping jacks instead. Exercise will wake you up too—without the nervous jitters that caffeine can cause.
8. Stretch Between Classes
A simple stretch between periods helps release physical tension and gives your brain a mini reset.
9. Don’t Forget to Smile
If you’re feeling socially anxious, you might walk around with your head down. Smiling—even a little—can make you more approachable and open the door to conversation.
10. Sleep Is a Game-Changer
Not getting enough sleep makes everything harder. Not having enough sleep makes teen school anxiety much, much worse. You probably have to get up early for school, so make it a habit to go to bed earlier.
Defeating Teen School Anxiety
Teen school anxiety is real, but with a few changes, your teen can feel calmer and more in control. Start with a couple of these tips, and build from there—progress matters more than perfection.
Helping teens grow and families improve connection,
Lauren Goodman, MS, MFT
