Rules for talking to your teen
If you find it challenging to connect with your teenager, Josh Emery shares tips to talk to your teen”
1. Validate them – “It sounds like you’re feeling …”
2. Ask them if they would like any support from you
3. Give them a hug or some available form of physical touch.
4. Ask them if they need space to process
5. Say something like, “I am sorry you have to go through this, I believe you can make it though.”

Find more helpful resources from our blog posts made specfically for your teen:

The Markings of Your Hometown | Chris Roland | Individual Counseling
“I take an out of the way drive in and around the north side of town where the smoke from hell’s exhaust pipe lingers above the cheap rent in the dark night.” These are the words that still ring in my soul from my time in Marshalltown, Iowa. 25 years later, I still...
November Is The Month To Reach Out | Emery Counseling | Chris Roland
November is the month to reach out to your lost connections, or even to the folks that you are confident know that you are present in their lives. We have darker days ahead and the cold of winter is coming. Men, how often do we validate one another? How often do we...

The Beauty within Vulnerability | Self-Worth Counseling | Fort Collins | Emery Counseling
When we think of the word vulnerability, it can feel quite jarring. What does it look like when we let our guards down and show a deeper side to ourselves that we may keep close to the chest? To be vulnerable is to open doors into our truest selves and show others,...

Exploring Youth Suicide & Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: What Parents Should Know | Therapy Fort Collins Colorado
Youth suicide is a very heavy topic that has touched the lives of many. It creates a severe rupture within whole communities, and at times can feel too much to bear. As mental health professionals, we want to protect and prevent youth from risk of suicide. In order...

Dangers Of Summer | Chris Roland | Therapist in Northern Colorado
What a strange title. There can’t be any dangers of summer in Northern Colorado, right? Summer can be an amazing time filled with relational connectivity, reconnecting with lost passions or discovering new ones, and a renewed sense of adventure and curiosity! Some...

Holistic Athlete | Emery Counseling | Therapy for Athletes
Holistic athlete, What does that mean? Growing up playing sports I always thought being an athlete meant the sole act of being on a team and if you were no longer a part of a team the title left along with it. This idea takes away from all of the important things I...

SEXTING…Adults, Teens & Attachment
One of the major theories regarding relationships is called attachment theory. It suggests that the way you related to your caregiver(s) as an infant, and the way your caregiver(s) related to you, shapes how you come to view relationships later in life. If your...

Teens in COVID: disassociation, needs and resiliency | Emery Counseling
Although teens are experiencing many emotions in this tumultuous time, I want to address the increased disassociation I am seeing in my teen clients. Dissociation is a break in how your mind handles information. Teens (and others) experiencing dissociation may feel...

Self-Harm | Help For The Parents | Emery Counseling
Finding out your child/teen is engaging in self-harming behaviors can throw any parent into a whirlwind of emotions- fear, anger, sadness, and confusion (just to name a few). Understanding why your child would harm their body can be very difficult. I intend to shed...

If Your Teen is Suicidal | Emery Counseling
If your teen is suicidal, you are not alone. At Emery Counseling we have therapists on staff to work with your entire family though this difficult time.