Therapy for Young Adults

Are You Struggling To Figure Out Who You Really Are?

Are you dealing with anxiety and depression around your career progression, academic performance, or financial instability? Have you lost interest in achieving certain goals or pursuing former passions, yet you’re not sure what you should strive for now? Is your uncertainty around your next steps in life affecting your self-worth and self-esteem?

For many people, young adulthood involves grappling with complex questions about identity. You may be undecided about your career or academic path, feeling out of place amongst your family or old friends, or wondering why you haven’t reached certain “milestones” yet. You can’t help but feel like you’ve fallen behind your peer group. You might even be experiencing doubts around your sexual orientation or gender identity, and you’re unsure if your loved ones would understand.

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Young Adults Are Coming Of Age In A Fast-Paced Society

For young adults today, the future looks unstable, and as a result, many feel lost and adrift. They are trying to establish their careers in a hyper-competitive job market with inadequate salaries while coping with student debt and high living costs. 

Young people starting out in their careers can push themselves to the point of burnout to meet high expectations set by their parents and teachers, yet they still feel like they’re failing. To make matters worse, young adults frequently scroll through idealized social media content, which suggests that somehow, everyone else is succeeding while they are struggling. 

Additionally, some people start questioning their gender or sexual orientation for the first time in young adulthood. They may not want to voice these questions due to concerns about facing prejudice in their communities, or the fear of being rejected by family members and close friends. Yet keeping these thoughts inside can make an individual feel as though they are living a lie.

Countless Young Adults Feel Trapped By Their Circumstances 

Lots of young adults want to change their lives for the better, but exposure to constant news about ongoing political instability, social unrest, and global issues like climate change can make them feel as though it’s pointless to try. Furthermore, young people often find that they can’t simply follow examples of success set by their parents because society has changed so drastically. 

By working with a qualified therapist, you can finally get in touch with the person you really are, rather than measuring your self-worth based on others’ perceptions. Therapy can help you gain clarity on your direction in life so that you can be proactive about moving towards your authentic goals, no matter where you’re starting from.

Therapy Can Help Young Adults Make Life Decisions That Honor Their Values

As a therapist, I help young adults answer the burning question, “Who am I?” We’ll work together to identify the specific challenges that are holding you back from changing your circumstances and becoming who you want to be. In counseling, I assist young adults in uncovering aspects of your identity that you may have suppressed or ignored so that you can find self-acceptance and release the burden of others’ expectations.

What To Expect In Therapy Sessions For Young Adults

Many young adults who pursue therapy decide to reach out for help because they’ve hit a “crisis point.” They may have been struggling with their mental health for months or even years, but after a breakup, job loss, or another tipping point, they realize that they need professional support to get back on their feet. 

If you’re starting therapy while in the midst of a personal crisis, we’ll begin our work together by focusing on simple, practical coping strategies to help you feel stable again in your daily life. Once you’re ready, we’ll shift into exploring the roots of the problems that brought you to therapy. 

Treatment Approaches To Therapy For Young Adults

I mainly apply a psychodynamic approach to therapy for young adults. Through psychodynamic therapy and psychoanalysis, I’ll guide you as you question your assumptions and beliefs about yourself, explore how your past is influencing your present, and expand your self-awareness. 

If you harbor fears of abandonment, failure, or success that are preventing you from designing a life you’re proud of, you’ll examine if these fears might be rooted in past trauma, family dynamics, or societal pressures. We’ll discuss which aspects of your identity are validated in your current environment and which parts of you feel suffocated. Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can help you integrate these parts to live as your whole self.

Many young adults dealing with low self-esteem benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques for addressing thought distortions exacerbated by anxiety and depression. Together, we’ll change your negative self-talk, address black-and-white thinking, and gradually rewrite the narratives that have defined you. Furthermore, we’ll discuss the triggers that might be worsening your stress levels. With mindfulness-based therapy, we’ll strengthen your emotional regulation skills so that you can navigate anxiety-inducing situations and life transitions with a sense of ease.

In counseling, young adults can also work on skills for asserting their needs in relationships and setting reasonable boundaries with their loved ones. Additionally, I’ll help you set up routines centered around habits and activities that support your mental and physical health.

Whether you’re grappling with depression, career or academic pressures, or questions about your identity, you don’t have to face these challenges alone. Through therapy, you can approach obstacles as opportunities for positive growth and embrace a new chapter of your life centered around honoring your values.