The experience of loss has a significant impact on a teenager’s development and functioning.

The experience of loss, whether a result of normal life transitions like a family move or more serious losses like a death in the family or catastrophic experience, has a significant impact on a teenager’s development and functioning. If you are concerned about how your teen has adjusted to a significant loss, reaching out to a therapist can help you navigate the intricate process of grief. Teens benefit greatly from working with a therapist who will empathize, listen, and recognize that each grief experience is unique. A therapist will help you follow your teen’s lead in the grief process, increase awareness of how your own grief reactions impact your teen, and consider ways in which loss impacts your teen’s identity development and growing need for independence.

The experience of loss, whether a result of normal life transitions like a family move, or more serious losses like a death in the family or catastrophic experience, has a significant impact on a teen’s development and functioning. If you are concerned about how your teen has adjusted to a significant loss, reaching out to a counselor can help you navigate the intricate process of grief. In therapy, you will learn that teens have many of the same feelings and needs in response to loss as we do as adults. However, they need added reassurance, support, and coping strategies to fully make sense of their experience and move forward in their lives. Therapy is a way to build resilience in teens, which can help reduce the severity and longevity of symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems.

Our psychologists at Metta Psychology Group are here to provide you and your teen with guidance and support as you navigate the grief process. Every teen grieves a bit differently, and our counselors are specially trained to meet teens where they are, while encouraging them to identify and process a variety of difficult feelings. In response to loss, teens can experience sadness, guilt and anger, sleep and concentration problems, and/or unwillingness to talk about the loss. Our psychologists will teach you how to respond to your teen’s unique needs in a developmentally appropriate way, including finding appropriate words to discuss difficult topics of loss, grief, and death. Therapy can also help your teen commemorate his or her loss, through finding meaningful ways to honor and celebrate the memory of a loved one or lost object. With the support of a counselor, parents will learn the value of speaking openly and honestly about the loss with their teen, listening attentively and without judgment, and practicing quality self-care.

Therapy is a safe, welcoming place for teens to talk about their feelings, ask questions, and receive validation and support during the pain and complexity of grief and mourning.