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At our Psychology Centre in Valencia we provide therapy for adolescents.
In therapy with adolescents we address the different kinds of problems that arise at this stage of life, described below.
Adolescence is, in a sense, an in-between time, halfway between childhood and adulthood, in which both physical and psychological changes take place: the body is defined, and so is the personality. Adolescents therefore face a period of major life changes, and of risk, in which adolescent psychology plays a fundamental role in personal development.
The change is relatively abrupt and, as with any hurried transformation, it is hard to adapt to it well, all the more so because adolescents' previous experience is limited and their personality is not yet defined, so they lack solid criteria of their own. In these circumstances, the difficulty of adapting to the new status that age imposes on them can cause identity crises, which in turn lead to unstable and contradictory behaviour.
Adolescents live in conflict, caught between an inner pull to go out, explore, discover their identity, try things and flirt with risk, and an outer world that sets limits, rules and obligations. In an uncomfortable and complicated identity crisis, they struggle daily with themselves, with others and with their surroundings, trying to discover who they are. Having an adolescent at home is often complicated, but it should not be forgotten that they are growing up with difficulties and contradictions that adolescent psychology can help with.
Adolescents grow up in the paradox of withdrawing from and distancing themselves from their family while seeking closeness and company in their peer group. What matters most to them is being someone within the group, driven by the need to belong.
Adolescence is when one's own identity is formed. Differentiation, the developmental task of building a unique identity, separate from one's parents, is easier if the adolescent can adopt their own opinions and behaviour and discuss them, without losing the emotional connection with the significant adults in their life. It follows that a parenting style that is too authoritarian or too permissive does not help this interaction: the first by excess, the second by default.
It is important to be aware that adolescents need to disagree, but also to talk, and that dialogue is only possible if we understand properly what adolescence involves and hold realistic, well-adjusted expectations about what we can find and change.
Many of the difficulties of this stage can be redirected with specialised care, ensuring a good entry into adulthood. Our team of psychologists in Valencia is experienced in therapy with adolescents.
Some of the most common problems we work on in therapy with adolescents (detailed pages in Spanish):
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