As a parent, it can be hard to see your young teen dealing with negative thoughts, emotional distress, or something worse like suicidal thoughts. Mental health issues are not uncommon, especially among young teens aged 12 to 15. It’s important to find a clinic, where therapists can do a psychological assessment, and decide on the right treatment plan. In many cases, types of cognitive-behavioral therapy, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), can be considered. In this post, we are discussing further on how DBT can help younger teenagers and what you can do as a parent.
What’s the format of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) focuses on two opposites – knowing and acknowledging the mental problem and bringing in behavioral change. The treatment model relies on group skill training, which also includes homework for teens, individual therapy, and phone coaching, when required. When you contact a clinic, they are likely to arrange for sessions that your teen child needs to attend, and as a parent, you may have to attend a few sessions, typically one per week, so that you can find more on how to help the child.
Why consider DBT?
Initially planned for treating borderline personality disorder, DBT has emerged as one of the better therapies for a varied range of mental health problems. It has shown immense promise in treatment of conditions like PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and stress management. Dialectical Behavior Therapy focuses on distress tolerance, where the patient is asked to acknowledge his feelings but controlling impulsive behavior they would do otherwise. It also focuses on emotional regulation and mindfulness, and it allows the patient to feel in control of their emotions.
Things to know
Dialectical Behavior Therapy may require many sessions, depending on the goals, disorder and other factors. The first evaluation gives a fair idea if DBT is the right choice for the teen, and depending on the results, doctors may recommend other forms of therapy. For young teens under the age of 15, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has shown amazing results in numerous cases, and many therapists recommend it because it focuses on behavioral change and controlling emotions.
Don’t delay in talking to a therapist if you believe that your teenaged kid has mental health issues. Early intervention always comes in handy and can prevent the issue from becoming a bigger mental health problem or disorder in the future.
The future of health care and therapy is uncertain. It will be able to detect patterns in patient’s behavior that could indicate mental illness or physical illness.
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