Support for adolescents navigating anxiety, identity, school, relationships, family stress, and growing up.
Being a teenager can feel intense, confusing, and lonely—even when things look fine from the outside. Adolescents are trying to build identity, independence, friendships, confidence, and emotional resilience while managing school pressure, family expectations, social comparison, body changes, technology, future uncertainty, and the deep need to belong.
Teen Therapy with
Collaborative Counselors
Building tools to navigate life
At Moving Forward Staying Present, our Portland-based therapists help teens make sense of what they are feeling and build tools for navigating life with more clarity and support. We work with teens experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, grief, identity questions, school stress, emotional overwhelm, relationship challenges, and family conflict.
Teen therapy gives adolescents a private, respectful space to talk with someone who is not a parent, teacher, or friend. It also gives families support as they learn how to stay connected while allowing teens to grow into themselves.
Teen Therapy Services
Our therapists work collaboratively with teens and families to identify goals that feel meaningful, realistic, and developmentally appropriate. Therapy may include talk therapy, CBT, ACT, narrative therapy, mindfulness, somatic approaches, family systems work, trauma-informed care, identity exploration, and practical skill-building.
-
Teen anxiety can show up as overthinking, avoidance, perfectionism, irritability, panic, social withdrawal, school refusal, sleep problems, or feeling constantly overwhelmed. Therapy helps teens understand their anxiety, develop coping tools, and build confidence in their ability to manage stress.
-
Depression in teens may look like sadness, numbness, anger, isolation, low motivation, changes in sleep or appetite, hopelessness, or loss of interest in things they used to enjoy. Therapy can help teens name what is happening, reduce shame, build support, and reconnect with meaning, identity, and daily life.
-
Teens with ADHD may struggle with homework, motivation, routines, organization, time management, emotional regulation, or feeling misunderstood by adults. Therapy can help teens build strategies that fit how their brains work, improve self-advocacy, and reduce the shame that often builds after years of feeling “behind” or “not trying hard enough.”
-
Adolescence brings major questions about identity, values, gender, sexuality, culture, friendships, body image, and belonging. Therapy offers a space where teens can explore who they are with curiosity and support. We are affirming of LGBTQ+ teens, neurodivergent teens, and teens navigating identity in complex family, school, cultural, or social contexts.
-
Trauma can affect teens through hypervigilance, shutdown, anger, avoidance, intrusive thoughts, relationship difficulties, or feeling disconnected from themselves. Our therapists use trauma-informed care that prioritizes safety, pacing, regulation, and trust.
-
Teens may grieve death, divorce, friendship loss, family change, identity shifts, missed milestones, or the loss of how life used to feel. Therapy can help teens process grief without forcing them to “move on” before they are ready.
-
Teens need independence, but they still need connection. Therapy can help teens and caregivers reduce conflict, clarify boundaries, improve communication, and better understand one another. When appropriate, family sessions or parent check-ins can support the teen’s progress.
-
Academic pressure, social dynamics, college expectations, extracurricular demands, and uncertainty about the future can weigh heavily on teens. Therapy can help teens develop coping tools, problem-solving skills, self-advocacy, and a more grounded relationship with achievement.
How Teen Therapy Helps
Teen therapy can help adolescents:
Understand and regulate emotions
Manage anxiety, depression, stress, or overwhelm
Build coping skills that work in real life
Strengthen self-esteem and self-trust
Navigate ADHD and executive functioning challenges
Process grief, trauma, or major life changes
Improve communication with parents or caregivers
Explore identity, values, gender, sexuality, culture, and belonging
Build healthier friendships and boundaries
Reduce isolation and increase support
Teen therapy can also help families:
Understand what their teen may be experiencing
Support autonomy without losing connection
Communicate with less conflict
Respond to anxiety, depression, ADHD, or emotional intensity more effectively
Clarify expectations and boundaries at home
Strengthen trust and repair after difficult moments
Our Approach to Teen Therapy
At MFSP, we approach teen therapy with respect, warmth, humor, honesty, and clinical care. Teens do not need another adult telling them who to be. They need someone who can listen carefully, ask useful questions, tell the truth kindly, and help them understand themselves with more compassion and clarity.
Our therapists may draw from CBT, ACT, narrative therapy, psychodynamic therapy, family systems therapy, somatic and mindfulness approaches, trauma-informed care, and identity-affirming therapy. We tailor the work to each teen rather than forcing every adolescent into the same model.
We also understand that teen therapy requires a thoughtful balance between privacy and caregiver involvement. Teens need confidentiality in order to build trust. Parents and caregivers also need enough communication to support safety and progress. We discuss those boundaries clearly at the beginning so everyone understands how therapy will work.
Is Teen Therapy Right for Your Teen?
Teen therapy may be a good fit if your teen is experiencing:
Anxiety, panic, perfectionism, or constant stress
Depression, low motivation, withdrawal, or irritability
ADHD, executive functioning challenges, or school struggles
Emotional outbursts, shutdowns, or difficulty regulating feelings
Grief, trauma, divorce, family change, or major life transitions
Identity questions related to gender, sexuality, culture, values, or belonging
Friendship stress, social anxiety, bullying, or loneliness
Conflict with parents, caregivers, or siblings
Low self-esteem, body image concerns, or negative self-talk
Difficulty talking openly with family
Begin Your Therapy Experience with Us
You do not have to know exactly what your teen needs before reaching out. We can help you think through whether teen therapy, family therapy, parent support, or a combination of services may be the right fit.
GETTING HERE
Location:
Our office is located in the Sellwood neighborhood of Southeast Portland at 8083 SE 13th Ave, Suites 2 & 4. Your therapist will specify which suite they are in. Come on upstairs to the second floor, but please keep in mind we are not ADA accessible.
Parking:
There is plenty of free street parking in front of the building as well as in the lot in the back of the building, just behind OnPoint Credit Union (13th and Tacoma St). Park in a spot NOT labeled OnPoint Credit Union and walk up the stairs at the back of the building. Find your Suite: 2 or 4.
Public Transport:
From downtown
Take the southbound #40 bus towards Tacoma, get off at SE Tacoma & 13th, or
Take the southbound MAX orange line towards Milwaukie, get off at SE Bybee Blvd and transfer to the northbound #40 bus towards Swan Island. Get off at SE Tacoma & 13th.
From Concordia, Grant Park, Buckman, Hosford-Abernathy, etc.
Take the southbound #70 bus towards Milwaukie, get off at SE 17th & Tacoma. Walk four blocks west to SE 13th & Tacoma.
From anywhere else:
Google Maps can provide useful routes that include bus schedules.
By Bike:
From anywhere along the Willamette
Take the Willamette Greenway Trail along the river to the Sellwood Bridge, cross the bridge and take Tacoma St to SE Tacoma & 13th.
Take the Springwater on the Willamette, turn off and take Spokane St to Spokane & 13th.
From anywhere else
There are many neighborhood greenways and bike paths that link up in Sellwood. Google Maps can give specific directions. Here are instructions for how to enable the biking paths layer.