When I tell people I work with teenagers, I usually get some version of this response: “Wow, that’s a tough age. You must be really patient, brave, or crazy.”
I may be a little bit of all three.
The changes that occur in the teenage years make working with (and parenting) teenagers both scary and (potentially) really fun.
Whether the “issue” that brings an adolescent into therapy is anxiety, self- harm, sexual acting out, depression, or relational struggles, a parent’s biggest question is some version of: “How do I make my child’s pain and suffering go away?” or “What does my child need?”
My answer to this heart-wrenching question is: “They need you.” My response is normally met with a mixture of confusion and fear. Your teenager’s biggest need is not for their pain to be fixed.
If their need isn’t to be fixed by their parents, then what on earth do they need? Here are three things every adolescent needs from their parents.
1. Teenagers need their parents to help hold their pain by being emotionally present. Being emotionally present means giving them permission to feel their own feelings without being shamed, judged, or abandoned.
2. Adolescents need to know that they are enjoyed just for being who they are, not based on how well they can perform certain activities.
3. Finally, teenagers need consistent boundaries. Consistent boundaries help teenagers feel safe, giving them the freedom to explore and develop their own internal boundaries (wisdom and discernment) within the safety net that external boundaries provide.
That sounds simple enough, right? So, what makes it so hard?
Teenagers are amazingly adept at stumbling upon and bringing to the surface their parent’s own need for healing and restoration.
Teenagers are like soldiers stumbling through a mine field with clown shoes on, never missing an opportunity to trigger their parents own “unfinished business.”
A parent’s emotional reactivity, impulsive behaviors, and distorted perceptions of their child may all be indicators that point to the parent’s unresolved trauma and leftover “issues.” Sadly, this reactive and inflexible state of mind impairs a parent’s ability to think clearly, and remain flexible in their responses, ultimately preventing parents from being able to give their children what they most need.
Adolescents need parents to have access to their own feelings. Having access to their own stories and the the feelings that go with them allows parents to not be as reactive to getting triggered by their children. Simply, the clumsy teenage minesweeper won’t be able to trip the alarms as easily, because the parents will know where they end and their children begin.
Put on your own oxygen mask first.
In short, the most loving thing you can do for your teenager is to put on your own oxygen mask first, so you can see and think clearly to help your teenager navigate the stormy seas of adolescence.
If you or someone you care about wants to learn how to parent from the heart, reach out to Melanie by calling (615) 502-0172 or emailing melanie@comealivecounseling.com.
Melanie Rogers, MMFT, LPC-MHSP is a therapist at Come Alive Counseling in Nashville, Tennessee. She loves inviting people to explore their own interior landscapes, challenging them to be intrigued with the bigger story being told in and through their lives. Melanie loves nothing more than to see her clients discovering, recovering, and living from their truest self.