Teen Therapy

Teens deal with a LOT.

Being a teen is a time of exploring, learning, and growing; but it’s also a time of social pressure, academic stress, struggling to belong, and confusion about who they are.

Some teens deal with feeling unsafe by acting out – against parents, teachers, or authority – or by “acting in” through substance abuse or self-harm.

Teens feel safe when the people around them are honest, calm, and compassionate, and can hold the boundaries that they need to push against with clarity and kindness.

When teens don’t know the limits, or the limits are too strict or too loose, they feel unable to navigate the world in a way that helps them figure out who they are. School, body image, sports, and grades feel like too much to handle. Friends are hard to make. Grades are hard to keep up.

The future seems overwhelming and scary, and stress increases. They give up. They withdraw, and they make bad decisions.

It’s hard to not feel useless and hopeless as parents.

We all want the best for our kids; but when they seem to reject our help and continue to make the same mistakes, we can’t help but feel angry, alone, and frustrated.

It can become really hard to talk to them – let alone help them… and parents can start to feel like the enemy: attacked, helpless, and powerless.

When teens don’t want to talk…

Equine therapy can help.

Without saying a word, horses help people open up, become more aware, and learn about themselves.

In whatever form the session takes, watching, grooming, riding, or working with the horses, each teen will respond in a way that helps them to become more aware and more ready to relax, feel, and process their struggles.

Teen therapy is like “live action play therapy” with animals.

Learning to connect with horses and our other animals is the way to feeling better.

Sometimes, parents or family members come to therapy so that your teen can talk about what they need and what they’re feeling. Sometimes, we just work solo with your teen.

We have goats, mini-horses, dogs, chickens, and, of course, horses. We hang out outside, we talk (or we don’t), we do stuff with horses, or we chill with the chickens.

It’s a time for your teen to relax, talk about whatever is bothering them, and to do cool stuff with horses. It can also be whatever they need it to be. Letting teens explore who they are and what they need benefits everyone, including you!