Christian Counseling For Teens

Understanding Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm and How Counseling Can Help

, 2025-08-28T08:50:49+00:00August 28th, 2025|Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling|

The topics in this article are sensitive in nature and are brought up in sessions quite often. Some clients are really hesitant to bring this up out of fear or embarrassment. This is true for Christians as well. In this article, I aim to provide you with some information so that you will better understand what you or someone you know is struggling with and will have a better understanding of how counseling can make a difference. These actions are an attempt to deal with something emotional. When we are in physical pain, we know what to do. If you have a headache, you take a pain medication, and if you have a cut, you put a Band-Aid on it. But with emotional pain, there is no Band-Aid or pain medication to fix, relieve, or cure it. We sometimes attempt to look for ways to escape. Someone begins to struggle with suicidal ideation or self-harm when that load becomes unbearable. What is suicidal ideation? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of “suicidal ideation” is “the act of thinking about or a state of preoccupation with ending one’s own life, the act of considering or planning suicide.” What is self-harm? “The act of purposely hurting oneself as by cutting or burning the skin as an emotional coping mechanism.” I believe some ways are used for self-harm that may not initially feel like harm or be seen as a problem. How does counseling help? Counseling provides a safe place to talk about and work through personal thoughts that are difficult to share with friends or family. Increase your awareness of contributing factors Assist you in gaining healthy coping skills and stress management Support you through it. I have developed a number scale to assist me in determining where clients are in their [...]

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How You Can Help Support Typical Teenage Problems

2024-10-23T12:43:12+00:00November 16th, 2023|Christian Counseling For Teens, Family Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling|

This article is meant to communicate two things. Firstly, how to establish open communication with your teen. Secondly, how to maintain it. Both points may feel difficult or impossible, especially when we reflect on our relationship with our parents during our teenage years. But as parents, we must recognize that exploring boundaries is something our children have done since being toddlers and is perfectly normal, regardless of the teenage problems that arise. Now that our teens are older and faced with greater and more toxic pressures than we were exposed to at the same age and stage, we must learn new ways to balance the risks to health and well-being they may be exposed to. As parents one of our main jobs is to launch our children out of the nest and have them fly. As we give them more and more freedom in their teen years, and the curfews get later and allowances give them more disposable spending, we should make sure that we can check in with them in a manner that builds trust and honest communication. Teens need a platform to reveal their concerns, and a loving parent and family member is a good and safe space for this to happen. Here are some ways we can support our children as they face typical teenage problems. Make sure your communication is healthy to overcome teenage problems. Communication is a two-way street. Not only will you speak with your teen, but you also have to listen to them as well. If they are taught that their job is to shut up and listen, then why would they share what is on their heart? If we keep interrupting them with solutions and instructions on how to run their lives it shows that not only do we not trust [...]

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