Who is an adolescent?
An adolescent is technically between the ages of 10 and 19 years old.
Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood, where the child experiences major physical and hormonal changes and changes to the way they view the world around them.
There are many physical, sexual, cognitive, social, and emotional changes that occur during this time. This can create anxiety and apprehension for both the child and other members of their family.
Early Adolescence (10-13 years)
– physical growth, hair growth, breast development and testicle enlargement.
– concrete, black and white thinking.
– greater need for independence and privacy.
Middle Adolescence (14-17 years)
– physical changes continue
– interest in romantic or sexual relationships increases
– greater struggle for independence
– greater awareness and interest in appearance
– brain development continues (not complete until 20 years old)
Kate works with adolescents from the ages of 14 to 17 years.
What does this all mean?
The body of an adolescent is changing in ways that they have never been more aware of, the brain is changing, the emotions are changing, awareness is changing and their needs are changing. Some days it might feel like nothing is stable and everything is new and different and probably a bit overwhelming.
Adolescent counselling can help come up with ways to deal with:
ALL OF THE CHANGES
Learning how to handle your hormone changes, mood changes, and also understanding how your feelings might have changed towards different people can help you feel more comfortable.
THE NEED FOR PRIVACY
You want more privacy and independence and your parents are worried you wont make the right decisions if they aren’t watching or checking all the time. Find out ways to show them you can be more responsible and you are maturing.
RELATIONSHIPS
Finding ways to deal with our siblings and our parents when we are all going through our own stress is really important. There are other relationships we need to be mindful of too, our friendships, our classmates, our teammates.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media can be the best thing, for keeping in touch and making plans. But then sometimes if someone is bothering you it is like you just can’t get away from them, not even at home. Finding ways to shut them down is really important.