Who I Help · Teens and Preteens
Therapy for Teens and Preteens
Middle school and high school compress a great deal into a small number of years: a changing body, a shifting friend group, a phone that never quite turns off, and a home life that is supposed to feel steady while everything else does not. Athena works with preteens and teens who are struggling under some combination of that weight.
60-Minute Sessions · $200 Individual / $250 Family
What Brings Teens In
School, Friends, and the Phone in Their Hand
Some teens arrive already fluent in the language of anxiety and depression; others arrive because a parent noticed slipping grades, a withdrawn mood, or a friend group that changed overnight and nobody will explain why. Social pressure at this age is not limited to the hallway. It follows a teenager home through group chats, disappearing messages, and a running comparison against curated versions of everyone else’s life. Sleep is often the first casualty, and once sleep goes, mood, focus and patience tend to follow it down.
Identity questions surface constantly at this stage: about gender, sexuality, friendships, faith, or simply who a teenager is when a parent is not watching. Some of that belongs in individual sessions where a teen can think out loud without managing a parent’s reaction in real time. Conflict at home is frequently part of the picture too: a house that has become a battleground over curfews, screen time or grades, where both the teen and the parents are exhausted by the same argument on a loop.
Preteens bring a slightly different set of concerns: the first anxious stomachaches before school, new sensitivity to peer opinion, the early edges of body image concerns, or difficulty naming what is wrong at all. Sessions with younger clients tend to be more concrete and structured, with more direct parent involvement built in from the start.
Confidentiality
What Parents Are, and Are Not, Told
A teenager who believes every sentence will be relayed home will simply stop talking. Athena discusses the specific boundaries of confidentiality with both the teen and the parent at intake, but the general shape is consistent: what is said in session stays between Athena and the teen, with two clear exceptions: safety concerns, and anything a minor consents to sharing. Parents get progress updates, a general read on how things are going, and direct involvement whenever the work calls for it, without a session-by-session transcript.
That arrangement is not secrecy for its own sake. It is what makes it possible for a fifteen-year-old to say the actually difficult thing out loud, which is usually the point at which real work can begin. Parents remain a genuine part of the process; they are simply not the audience for every session.
Bringing Parents In
Individual Work, With Family Sessions Where Useful
Most teen work happens one-on-one, giving a teenager room to build a relationship with a therapist that is theirs and not a shared account with a parent. Where a rule, routine or recurring argument at home is part of the problem, though, one or more parents are brought in for a set of family sessions aimed specifically at that piece: renegotiating a curfew, agreeing on phone boundaries, or simply learning to argue about homework without it turning into a referendum on the whole relationship.
Those family sessions are billed at the family rate rather than the individual rate, and are scheduled only when they will genuinely move the work forward, not as a routine add-on. Between them, the individual work continues, giving the teenager a consistent place to process what family sessions stir up.
Athena does not treat substance abuse, grief, or OCD, and she is not a prescriber. Medication questions for a teen or preteen belong with a pediatrician or psychiatrist. She is licensed in Utah only, in person in Salt Lake City or by telehealth anywhere in Utah.
Common Questions
Teen and Preteen Therapy Questions
- What will you tell me about what my teen says in session?
- Teens need enough privacy to speak honestly, so session content generally stays between Athena and your teen. What you can expect instead is a general sense of progress, safety concerns handled directly with you, and clear conversations about house rules where those are part of the work. Specifics are discussed with your teen and set at intake.
- Do preteens attend alone or with a parent?
- It varies by age and issue. Younger preteens often have a parent present for part of the first session; older teens are usually seen alone with parents brought in periodically to work on a specific piece, such as a curfew disagreement or a communication pattern at home.
- What ages does Athena see?
- Athena works with preteens, teens and adults. There is no fixed minimum age; fit is assessed at intake based on the young person's readiness for talk-based work.
- How much do sessions cost?
- Individual sessions with a teen or preteen are 60 minutes at $200. When a family session is needed instead, that is 60 minutes at $250. Select Health, BCBS, UBH and University of Utah Health Plans are accepted.
Start With the Contact Form
A parent typically fills out the initial contact form on a teen’s behalf. From there, intake will cover ages, goals and how confidentiality will work for your family.