As children exit their childhood stages and enter into pre-teen and teenage years, many parents fear that their changing minds and bodies — as well as the influence of peers and friends — may cause their children to experiment with drugs and alcohol, or develop behavioral issues. How can parents be proactive and help to prevent these issues from developing in their children?

Substance Abuse in Teens

Arizona teenagers have a lower risk factor for substance abuse than teenagers in other states in the United States, but the threat is still very real and very important to avoid. 7.58% if 12-17 year-olds in the State of Arizona report using drugs in the past month, Further, 12.51% of Arizona Teens admit to using marijuana at least once in the past year. Though lower than the rest of the country, the threat of substances abuse and behavioral issues in teens is still very high and a serious one.

Behavioral Problems in Teens

Teens can develop behavioral problems seemingly out-of-nowhere… it comes down to a simple choice by the teenagers whether to seek positive behaviors or negative ones. This choice happens in the teenager’s mind, and therefor the precipitation of the choice also happens 100% in the teenager’s mind. This choice might be influenced by outside opinions (parents warnings about the dangers of drugs and alcohol [positive], or by peer pressure from friends [negative]).

Reinforcing outside influences can push teens further into one choice or the other, so the more positive communication and influence you give a child/teen on this subject, the more likely they will make a positive choice when pressured into using drugs and alcohol or engaging in negative behavioral patterns.

Examples of Teen Behavioral Issues

• • Self Harm
  • Defiance
  • Oppositional Behavior
  • Aggression
  • Lying
  • Uncontrolled Irritability
  • Aggressive Behaviors
  • Moodiness
  • Conduct Changes
  • Argumentative

Is My Teenager’s Behavior Normal?

All of the above examples of behavioral issues are to be expected in minor doses from your teen. Teens are generally more argumentative, aggressive, defiant, and less in-control of their behaviors than children and adults, so this behavior is to be expected in minor forms. When these behaviors exceed the normal range of teenage angst and become dangerously problematic, this is indicative of a more serious problem than just normal teenage behavior.

By the time serious behavioral problems show-up in teens, it may be too late for them to reverse course easily. Instead parents want to watch for the warning signs that their teens behavior is outside the normal range, and rectify the behaviors BEFORE they get out-of-hand.

Red Flags for Teenage Behavioral Issues

Contrary to popular belief, behavioral issues are more often seen in teens and children with HIGHER intelligence, rather than in teens within an average range of intelligence. The negative and defiant behaviors often develop out of the teenager’s opinions on what they see right in front of them: in society, in circles of friends, in the behaviors of parents and teachers, and the general way the world works.

Being a teenager is all about realizing who you are and how you fit into the world around you. When things don’t fit exactly, the teenager’s mind is left to question: WHY? The teenage mind tells the individual that something needs to change in order for them to fit in. The teenager will then try and change 1 of 2 things to fit better — either the world, or themselves. This is where the behavioral issues usually stem from.

“Why should I go to school?” the teenage mind will ponder. “The way school is set up does not offer me any benefit that I can see right now, so it is not important to me.” This is where you get the defiant, combative, and aggressive behaviors in teens.

When faced with the realization that to get over this hardship they are feeling they must either change themselves or change the world, some teens get motivated while others lose their motivation. Those that lose interest and motivation are more at-risk to “drop out” instead of dealing with an issue. Not dealing with these smaller issues leads to compounded issues and eventually behavioral problems and issues.

Therapy for Disillusioned Teens

“Disillusion” is the feeling that drives behavioral problems in teens. A feeling of disappointment in something that leads them to not care about that thing anymore, and lack and motivation attached to that thing.

For example, there is a time in almost every child’s life when they go from loving school to hating it. It may happen early in life or later in life, but when the change does happen, it is because the individual has become disillusioned with the idea of school. Maybe the teen feels that school is not really as necessary as parents and teachers have proclaimed it to be; but, the teen no longer has the interest in school and performance will start dropping if they are not engaged. Rectifying this situation requires therapy, because we need to find out what exactly it was that disillusioned  the teen, in order to re-instill hope and motivation once again.

Helping Teens to Grow at Their Own Pace

The problem with most school and education systems, is that they all follow a single schedule. At a certain age you begin learning ABCs, another age you learn common courtesy (please and thank you’s), and at the next age all the children move onto the next subject of learning. The problem is that not all children learn and grow at the same rate.

One 13 year old may be fully ready to move onto more complicated and advanced education subjects, while another of the same age might be behind and still need a few more months of practice to be on-par with other children. Therapists act as an outside teacher to help “coach” these teens on the problems they are facing and help to bring them to where they need to be to move-on to the next learning challenge.

Therapy and Counseling for Young Adults

Along those same lines, some teens can become young adults in their 20s before successfully tackling all of their teenage problems. Even adults need therapy and counseling for issues and ideas that were never properly dealt with as a teenager.  Remedial counseling for teenage problems as an adult or young adult is quite common, nothing to be ashamed of, and therapists can work closely with you work through developmental-age issues that still persist.

Does Your Teen or Adolescent Need Therapy?

The best way to find if your child could benefit from therapy and counseling is to start with a conversation. A 15 Minute Consultation between your child and a therapist can find out what your child is thinking and worrying about. Sometimes these worries and frustrations can be fixed simply by talking about them and “getting the issue off your chest.” Often a teenager finds an outlet for their feelings and emotions through therapy, and the talk therapy alone is enough to avoid or rectify any behavioral issues in teens and young adults.