Teen & Young Adult Therapy in San Francisco
Adolescence and early adulthood can bring a lot of change all at once. School, relationships, identity, independence, family expectations, and decisions about the future can start to feel overwhelming, even when everything looks relatively fine from the outside.
Therapy can offer a space to slow things down, understand what is happening, and develop ways of moving through these years with more clarity, confidence, and connection.
Therapy for Teens
It can be difficult for parents to know when a teenager is going through a normal rough patch and when they may benefit from additional support.
My goal is to create a space where teens can feel comfortable being themselves without feeling judged, analyzed, or pressured to immediately have the right answers.
Therapy can help teens better understand their emotions, recognize patterns, build stronger coping skills, and feel more confident navigating relationships and everyday stress.
Your teen may be:
Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or under constant pressure
Struggling with school stress or perfectionism
Having difficulty with friendships or romantic relationships
Struggling with confidence or self-esteem
Having a hard time communicating what they are feeling
Adjusting to major changes at school, home, or within relationships
Trying to understand who they are and where they fit
Therapy for Young Adults
Early adulthood can come with a surprising amount of uncertainty.
You may be navigating college, work, relationships, family expectations, independence, or questions about what you actually want your life to look like.
You might find yourself comparing your progress to everyone around you, questioning your decisions, feeling stuck in relationships, or wondering why adulthood does not feel as clear as you expected it to.
Our work can focus both on understanding where these patterns come from and on finding practical ways to create change in your everyday life.
Therapy can be a place to work through:
Anxiety and overthinking
Relationships and dating
Identity and self-esteem
Family Dynamics
Career or academic uncertainty
Major life transitions
Perfectionism and self-criticism
Loneliness or disconnection
The pressure to have everything figured out
An Understanding of the School Environment
Therapy is collaborative and tailored to the individual.
Some teens come in knowing exactly what they want to talk about. Others may not know where to begin, may feel unsure about therapy, or may be attending because a parent suggested it.
That is okay.
I focus first on building trust and creating a relationship where teens feel comfortable being honest and curious about themselves.
Depending on the teen and their goals, sessions may include conversation, reflection, skill-building, creative approaches, and exploring patterns in relationships, emotions, and behavior.
What Does Teen Therapy Look Like?
My experience working as a therapist and school counselor has given me a close-up understanding of the environments teens and young adults are navigating.
Academic expectations, friendships, social pressure, family relationships, extracurricular demands, and questions about the future often overlap rather than exist separately.
Having worked within school communities, I understand that supporting a young person sometimes means looking beyond symptoms and considering the larger environment around them.
When appropriate and with proper consent, I can also collaborate with parents, school counselors, or other providers as part of a teen’s broader support system.
How Involved Are Parents?
Parent involvement depends on the teen's age, needs, and circumstances.
I believe teens benefit from having a private and trusting therapeutic relationship while also recognizing that parents can be an important part of their support system.
At the beginning of therapy, we will talk about confidentiality, communication, and how parent involvement will work.
In some cases, parent consultations or occasional family sessions may also be helpful.
My Approach
My style is warm, conversational, and collaborative.
I draw from relational, emotion-focused, narrative, and other evidence-informed approaches depending on the needs of the person I am working with.
I am interested not only in reducing symptoms, but also in helping people better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns that shape how they move through the world.
FAQs
What if my teenager does not want therapy?
1
It is common for teens to feel hesitant about therapy, especially if the idea came from the parent. Building trust is part of the process. I do not expect teens to arrive ready to immediately share everything or even know what they want to work on.
Will you tell me what my teen talks about?
2
Teenagers need privacy for therapy to be effective. At the same time, there are limits to confidentiality when there are concerns about safety. We will discuss confidentiality and parent communication clearly at the beginning of treatment.
Do you work with parents separately?
3
Yes. Parent consultation can be helpful when parents want support around communication, boundaries, school concerns, family dynamics, or how best to support their teen.
Do you coordinate with schools?
4
When clinically appropriate and with written authorization, I can collaborate with school counselors or other members of a teen’s support team.
Do you offer virtual therapy?
5
I provide virtual therapy to clients located in California. Telehealth availability can be discussed during consultation.
Getting Started