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Helping Your Teen Manage Stress & Anxiety

Helping Your Teen Manage Stress & Anxiety

by | Nov 20, 2025 | Anxiety Related, Confidence, Relationships

If you’re a parent in Leawood, Overland Park, or the greater Kansas City area, you’ve probably noticed your teen feeling more overwhelmed than ever. School pressure, social media, college prep, and the lingering effects of the pandemic have turned normal stress into daily anxiety for many adolescents.

The good news? You don’t have to fix it alone—and your teen doesn’t have to “just push through.” Two evidence-based therapies, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), are especially powerful for teens, and parents play a crucial supporting role in the process.

How CBT Helps Teens Rewire Anxious Thoughts CBT teaches teens to spot the automatic negative thoughts that fuel anxiety (“Everyone will laugh if I speak up in class” or “I’m going to fail this test and ruin my future”). Together with a therapist, they learn to challenge those thoughts with evidence and replace them with more balanced ones. Over just a few months, many Leawood-area teens notice they feel less paralyzed by worry and more capable of handling tests, friendships, and uncertainty.

How ACT Helps Teens Live Bigger Than Anxiety While CBT focuses on changing thoughts, ACT focuses on changing the relationship with thoughts and feelings. Teens learn mindfulness skills to notice anxiety without getting hooked by it, then clarify what truly matters to them—their values (being a supportive friend, pursuing music, standing up for what’s right)—and take small, brave steps in those directions even when anxiety shows up. The result? A life that feels meaningful instead of fear-driven.

Your Role as a Parent: Connection Over Correction Research shows teens do best when parents shift from “fix-it” mode to “coach-and-connect” mode. Simple, powerful actions include:

  • Validating feelings without jumping to solutions (“That sounds really heavy. I’m here.”)
  • Modeling healthy coping (your own deep breaths or short walks)
  • Encouraging small value-based actions instead of avoidance
  • Attending a few joint sessions so you understand the tools your teen is learning

At True Self Counseling in Leawood, we specialize in blending CBT and ACT for adolescents while actively involving parents when it’s helpful. Many families tell us the biggest relief is finally having a shared language and practical strategies that work both in sessions and at home.

If your teen is withdrawing, irritable, or struggling to sleep because of stress and anxiety, you don’t have to wait for it to “get bad enough.” Early support makes a huge difference.

We offer both in-person sessions in Leawood and virtual options for busy Kansas City-area families. Your teen deserves to feel capable and connected—and you deserve to feel like a confident, supported parent again.

Ready to get started? Call or message us—we can’t wait to help your family thrive. Schedule you first session today!

The Overlooked Epidemic of Depressed Teenage Girls

The Overlooked Epidemic of Depressed Teenage Girls

by | Mar 5, 2013 | Depression, Self Image

Many people are unaware of the fact that once an adolescent girl hits puberty, her risk of depression is double that of her male classmates (Gary Ginter).  This is important information to know, so parents, teachers, school counselors and youth leaders can be on the lookout for some of the tell-tale signs of depression.  These symptoms include frequent sadness or crying, feelings of worthlessness & hopelessness, low self-esteem, fatigue, apathy, changes in appetite, loss of pleasure in life, and difficulty concentrating.  For adolescents in particular, some additional signs to look out for include: a sudden drop in grades, uncharacteristic irritability, and moodiness.  Depressed teenage girls commonly act out with self-harm, including cutting or burning their skin.  Additionally, depressed young people are twice as likely to have a substance abuse problem than other adolescents (James Matta).  Therefore, if a problem abusing substances exists, it is imperative to also check for signs of depression.

The unfortunate truth is that only about 40 percent of adolescents needing treatment get adequate care, often because the problem is not spotted (Dr. Graham Emslie).  Perhaps this is because we assume, as a society, that it’s normal for a teenage girl to become moody and display frequent sadness once they go through the hormonal changes associated with puberty.  However, it is crucial to identify the severity of these behaviors, and to assess for the other symptoms of depression as well.  Interpersonal problems, such as difficulties or changes in peer relationships – – and how these changes are handled – – can become a trigger for depression among teenage girls.

Early identification of these problems is critical; the earlier these symptoms are identified, the greater chance of successful treatment and quick improvement.  For adolescents with mild to moderate levels of depression, psychotherapy or talk therapy is most useful (Matta).  If identified early, teens are likely to show improvement within four to six weeks of consistent counseling treatment.  Research supports the recommendation that psychotherapy intervention should be considered the first-line treatment.  (For more severe cases, the addition of an anti-depressant may be a consideration after several weeks of therapy without any improvement).

The good news is that with early identification and proper treatment, the recovery rate of adolescent depression is over 90 percent over one to two years from the onset of the depressive disorder (Matta).  There simply needs to be an awareness of the additional risk of depression among teenage girls in order to watch for the symptoms in ensure they receive timely and appropriate treatment.