Services for Teens
Assessment and
Treatment
Adolescence
can be a very difficult time for teens and their parents or caregivers.
Changing bodies, self-consciousness, peer pressure, academic
expectations, and bullying are just a few of the challenges teens may
encounter. Our group of youth-focused psychologists have expertise in
helping teens (and parents) understand, navigate, and manage the
troubled waters of adolescence. Our goal is to help your teen thrive at
home, school, and in the community and to be happier with themselves
and their relationships. We assess and treat a wide range of problems
in this age group, including:
●
General life stress, anxiety, and worries
● Adjustment to illness, separation, or divorce
● Family conflict
● Social difficulties or withdrawal
● Anxiety Disorders
o Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
o Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
o Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
o Panic Disorder
o Specific Phobias
o Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
●
School refusal or avoidance
● Depression
●
Selective Mutism
● Tourette's Disorder
● Habit problems such as Trichotillomania (hair pulling), nail biting, and skin picking
● Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
● Behaviour problems such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and excessive anger
We teach specific, practical coping skills to teens and help parents to best support their children as they move through this difficult developmental stage. We do this utilizing techniques and strategies that have been shown to be effective by both scientific research and clinical practice, most notably
● Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
– CBT
is considered to be the most effective form of treatment for many of
the problems teens face, and it is the primary approach used by our
team at NSSAC.
● Parent Support/Training – We
work with parents using an approach that carefully balances their
important role in their teen’s growth and maturation with the teen’s
drive towards greater independence and responsibility.
● Interpersonal therapy (IPT) –
IPT is another treatment that has been shown to be very helpful for
some of the problems faced by teens, most notably depression. This
approach helps teens to learn more effective ways of dealing with the
interpersonal struggles of adolescence (e.g., separating from parents,
romantic relationships).
Psychoeducational
Assessment
One of the strengths of our child and youth team is their expertise in
conducting a very specialized type of assessment known as a
"psychoeducational assessment". Psychoeducational assessments have a
variety of different purposes. At NSSAC, we aim to:
●
Discover and describe teens' strengths and challenges
● Identify or diagnose
o Learning difficulties, disabilities, and disorders
o Intellectual delays
o ADHD
o Giftedness
● Understand how these strengths and challenges impact
different facets of their life
●
Make recommendations to help teens at home and school
●
Support the transition into middle school or high school
●
Support the transition into postsecondary education and/or training
For more information about psychoeducational assessments watch the video below or visit www.psychoed.ca.
 |
The Teen Services Team |
