You couldn’t wait until you were a young adult to start calling your own shots.
You had it all figured out – you knew if you were going to college or getting a job after high school. Making your own decisions without someone telling you what to do was liberating. As time passes, you may be drifting away from your high school inner circle of friends and trying to find a new group. You’re also trying to establish your own identity while dealing with new pressure from the responsibilities of being an adult. You’re a few years removed from being a teenager, but the decisions are getting real.
Maybe you’re in college now. When you started college, you were excited to meet new friends, make your own decisions, work towards your major, and strengthen your own identity. But now you’re here and you’re stressed about classes, stressed about life, stressed about relationships, you’re just… stressed. Suddenly, all of the things you looked forward to don’t seem as great.
Or perhaps you’re done with school. You may be on your own now, looking for your first job or have already started working. But this has brought a new set of challenges. You’re trying to figure out who you really are and figure out your relationships. Are these true friends or are they just work friends? You thought dating and finding a significant other would be fun and easy, but maybe it’s become frustrating and stressful. Maybe you worry so much about making mistakes that you paralyze your ability to make decisions.
Transitioning to college, into work, and establishing your own family is hard. You knew this wouldn’t be easy, but you didn’t expect it to be so challenging. Your life is busy and balancing everything is becoming more difficult. You may be feeling pressure to figure everything out, and it’s only natural that you may feel overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious about your life situation.
You’re thinking – am I really ready to take on the responsibilities that come with being an adult? Shouldn’t I know what to do?
You want to figure it out, but it seems like the challenges keep stacking up and you’re not sure where to turn. Maybe you don’t want to talk to your parents because you were so sure you’d be good at this. Or perhaps you don’t feel like you have someone in your life you are comfortable talking about this with. Maybe you just want someone to tell you that it’s not just you. What we want you to know is that there is nothing wrong with seeking help – you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself.
This is where VCC therapists can help.
They are specially trained in working with the young adult population in therapy. We see lots of college students and young adults, and we understand the challenges you are faced with. Our therapists have years of education, training, and experience in working with a diverse group of young adults that enables them to understand your specific issue and how to help.
As you’re emerging as an adult, you’re becoming more sure about who you are. There’s nobody that knows more about your life or your story. Our therapists know this very well – you’re in charge of you. So in session, this is our focus – defining your issues, your needs, and your goals – not what someone else thinks these things are or should be.
As a young adult, you might be strong-minded and think you can figure things out on your own and are skeptical about therapy. You’ve had friends who’ve done counseling and recommend it, or perhaps a college counselor, co-worker, or someone else recommended it. This skepticism is natural, and you might need a few sessions to see if it’s right for you. Our goal is to help you feel comfortable and build trust. We take time to really get to know you, so that we can understand your goals and help you reach them. We know that everyone is different and the foundations for successful therapy is the relationship, so we want to make sure that you and your therapist are a good match.
If there is a particular issue that brought you in for therapy, such as anxiety, depression, or self-esteem, we encourage you to talk with your therapist about their experience and how counseling can help. They’ll be happy to share their experience, as they’re here to listen and work with you.
Common Issues Where Young Adult Therapy Helps:
Becoming an adult is full of life transitions and some of the most impactful challenges you’ve faced in your life so far. Some of the reasons that a young adult comes for therapy include:
- Stress: As you become an adult, you face all kinds of new stress: college, finding a job, relationships.
- Anxiety: This includes social, college, or work anxiety, or anxiety in general
- Recent Transitions: Transitioning from high school or college to post graduation life, family changes, relationship changes
- Depression
- Developing your identity: Feeling like you aren’t sure who you are or where you fit
- Traumatic Experiences: This can include abusive relationships, sexual abuse, or any other traumatic life experience
- Relationship issues
- Feeling overwhelmed and worried about your future
- Grief or loss
- Challenges with technology and social media
When you come as a young adult for therapy at VCC, you will experience therapy that is personalized for you. You can:
- Learn strategies to manage the increasing amount of stress you face daily, tailored to where you are in life right now.
- Understand your anxiety and depression and develop strategies to manage them that is personalized to where you are right now.
- Understand yourself and the things that you value and are important in your life to help you find your identity
- Discover the power you have to be comfortable and confident making decisions.
- Be empowered to better manage the stress and decision-making that happens in life.
- Feel comfortable, secure, and confident in who you are.
For young adults, the therapeutic process is intended to help you manage the emotions and concerns that come during the many transitions at this point in your life. Our approach is one that is a strength-based treatment and views you as a true partner in the process. What this really means is that we identify and focus on the strengths that you have and that our therapists use research based techniques that are focused specifically on the particular needs of you.
Our therapists understand that becoming an adult is full of transitions and challenges. Everyone is different, so we work with you to find treatment and solutions that work. We’re here to help you work through your issues so you can feel comfortable, confident, and empowered.
What to Expect for Young Adult Therapy
Therapy starts with an intake appointment, when you will meet with the therapist to understand the counseling relationship and gather details about your psychological and social background and the concerns that have brought you in for therapy. We’ll also focus on answering questions that you have so that you feel comfortable with your therapist. We can talk about goals that you have and what you would like to achieve during this process.
The second session begins the therapeutic process. Sessions are typically weekly and last for approximately one hour. During the early sessions, our therapists will work to really get to know you and develop a meaningful connection to build a high level of trust. This will allow you to become more comfortable in sharing your thoughts and feelings without fear of being judged. Our skilled therapists work to quickly gain this trust so that together we can get to the root of any issues you face. Here your therapist will use various evidenced-based techniques and strategies to work towards you become healthier and happier.
As the therapeutic process progresses, sessions may reduce in frequency as changes are made and goals are achieved. This process can differ from person to person, and we strive to tailor each experience to each individual client, collaborating between you and your therapist. Discharge from therapy can occur when you feel comfortable and secure that skills and strategies that you have learned can be used outside of session successfully.
Your Next Steps
Getting past the challenges you’re facing to find happiness and be successful at whatever you choose is possible. You can take control of you, find yourself, and develop meaningful relationships. And you don’t have to do this on your own. You can have a bright future. VCC is here to help.
Contact us at 717-790-1700, info@valleycounselingcenter.com, or click the button below to schedule your therapy session today.
