Because sometimes you need more support

Being a teenager is hard today. Parenting is not easy either.

Family Counseling

Every family runs into moments where something in how you function together just isn't working: siblings who can't get along, kids who each need something different from you, parents who love each other but can't agree on how to actually parent. These aren't crises. They're the ordinary, real work of raising a family, and they deserve real attention.

Family Counseling is ongoing, weekly therapy built around your family as it actually is, whatever age your kids are. Sometimes that means everyone in the room together. Sometimes it means working with just the two of you as parents to get aligned, or with a couple of siblings who need help hearing each other. The format flexes to whatever the moment calls for.

This isn't a fixed program with a set structure or an end date. It's the kind of ongoing, responsive support that lets you work through what's actually happening in your family, as it evolves, for as long as it's useful.

Ready to talk about what's going on in your family?

Teen Counseling

Rates of anxiety and depression among teens have climbed so sharply that the U.S. Surgeon General has declared a mental health crisis among children and young adults.

As a parent, it's hard to know where the line is between a rough patch and something more serious, and harder still to know what to actually do about it.

Common reasons parents reach out

  • Anxiety, including social anxiety, that's starting to interfere with school, friendships, or everyday life

  • Depression, low mood, or a noticeable loss of interest in things that used to matter to them

  • Big life transitions, divorce, a move, a loss, that seem to have knocked them off balance

  • Struggles with self-esteem, identity, or body image

  • Difficulty managing emotions, frequent meltdowns, shutting down, or reactions that feel bigger than the moment

  • A general sense that something is "off," even if you can't name exactly what

If any of this sounds familiar, individual therapy gives your teen a dedicated space to work through it, with real clinical support, not just a place to vent.

For high-achieving families

If you're a high-achieving parent, all of the above can be even harder to see clearly. You figured out how to succeed. You have a vision for what success looks like, and the advice to back it up. Your friends have successful kids too. So in your teen's mind, there's no excuse for them to be struggling, which is exactly the pressure that creates the struggle. Research consistently shows that teens from high-achieving, financially comfortable families report higher rates of anxiety and depression than their peers, not lower. The advantages that should make life easier can instead make failure feel unthinkable and support feel like scrutiny.

I combine evidence-based clinical treatment with resilience-based skills training: not just managing symptoms, but building the emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and coping skills that serve your teen well beyond whatever brought them into my office. This approach has been validated in multiple studies with researchers from the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

This is different from a Weekend Reset.

If your teen doesn't have a diagnosable mental health condition and the challenge is more about communication, trust, or behavior, the Weekend Reset program may be a faster, more direct fit. Teen Counseling is for when there's a real clinical concern that needs individual, ongoing therapeutic support.

Read more about The Weekend Reset here.

Ready to talk about getting your teen the right support?

Parent Coaching

Some of the hardest parenting happens when your relationship with your child is under outside pressure: a high-conflict divorce, a custody dispute, a pattern of parental alienation, or a child who has chosen to live with the other parent, leaving you trying to find your way back to them.

In situations like these, you're not just trying to be a better parent. You're trying to become, and stay, the parent your child needs, even when the circumstances make that harder than it should be.

I work with parents in exactly this position: building the real skills, self-awareness, and consistency that repair and protect the parent-child relationship, regardless of what else is happening around it. This isn't generic parenting advice. It's focused, practical support for parents navigating a genuinely difficult and often painful situation, one where the stakes for the relationship are real.

Ready to talk about your situation?

© 2026 Kristin MacDermott Method, Inc.

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