I’m a parent, how often do we speak with the therapist?

Collaboration is an essential part of adolescent therapy. During the intake process I see your teen individually then gather additional information from the parents to establish patient history, identify target behaviors and develop collaborative treatment goals. All conversations between the therapist and teen are confidential unless consent is given or the child has indicated a desire to harm themselves or another. However, people typically want to be heard and seen. Most of the teens I work with request the author contact their parents to communicate goals, develop interventions and discuss supports. Before each call, the child and therapist will identify the boundaries of the call, the topic as well as the goal. As your child increases their assertive communication skills, these calls will be reduced as the teen begins to independently share their internal world with you more often.