Services
Adolescent Therapy in Nashville
At Music City Psych, we provide compassionate, expert therapy for kids and teens in Nashville, offering a safe and supportive space for teens to express their struggles. The middle school and high school years can be overwhelming, filled with academic pressure, social challenges, and emotional ups and downs. Our therapists specialize in helping teens navigate these pivotal years with confidence and resilience.
We work with adolescents facing a variety of concerns, including:
- Academic stress and performance anxiety
- Depression, mood swings, and emotional regulation
- Anxiety and social challenges
- Risky behaviors and impulsivity
- Low self-esteem and identity struggles
Through developmentally appropriate conversations and tailored interventions, we help teens explore the underlying causes of their challenges, build coping strategies, and develop healthier ways to navigate their world. Our approach prioritizes respect, understanding, and collaboration, ensuring that each adolescent feels heard and supported in a way that fosters growth and self-awareness.
Whether you’re seeking therapy for teens in Nashville or online adolescent counseling across Tennessee, our team is here to help. Located just minutes from downtown Nashville, Brentwood, West Meade, and Germantown—or available virtually—we make expert adolescent therapy accessible and convenient for your family.
Meet in-person or online. We offer the option to meet with your therapist online. Video sessions are held through a HIPPA-protected platform.
Featured Therapists for Adolescents
Hope Spector, LPC-MHSP
Hope creates a supportive and structured environment where children and teens can explore their emotions and challenges. Using approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and mindfulness techniques, she equips adolescents with tools to manage stress, build confidence, and strengthen emotional awareness.
Campbell Bowden, LPC (temp)
Drawing from her experience as a former Division I athlete, Campbell brings a unique perspective to adolescent therapy. She combines practical tools like CBT with performance psychology techniques to help teens overcome challenges and develop resilience. Campbell helps uncover strengths and builds the skills kids need to thrive.
Kid’s therapy as a safe haven
Adolescence is a time of significant transition, bringing unique challenges for both teens and their parents. While parents may feel at a loss for how to help, teens often experience overwhelming emotions, peer pressures, and identity struggles that can be difficult to navigate alone. At Music City Psych, we create a safe, non-judgmental space where teens feel truly heard and supported.
The Modern Challenges Teens Face
Beyond the typical struggles of adolescence, today’s teens also face challenges their parents never encountered:
- Cyberbullying
- Social media pressures
- Online privacy concerns
- Exposure to unrealistic media portrayals
These factors and others can intensify anxiety, contribute to low self-esteem, and encourage risky behaviors, making professional support more important than ever.
Building Trust in Therapy
Teens need the reassurance that their thoughts, feelings, and fears will be met with empathy, patience, and respect. At Music City Psych, our therapists specialize in building trust with adolescent clients, fostering a relationship where they feel safe to open up and explore their emotions without pressure or expectation. Each teen is seen as an individual, with their own experiences, challenges, and strengths.
How Therapy Helps Teens Thrive
By taking the time to establish a strong therapeutic relationship, our counselors can gradually introduce strategies for emotional regulation, self-reflection, and problem-solving—empowering teens to take charge of their mental and emotional well-being. As trust deepens, sessions evolve into more direct conversations that help teens develop effective coping mechanisms and forward-thinking strategies for navigating life’s complexities.
If your child is struggling with stress, anxiety, or emotional difficulties, adolescent therapy at Music City Psych can provide the support and guidance they need to move forward with confidence. Contact Music City Psych today to schedule a session or learn more about adolescent therapy.
Skills that build strong foundations
Understanding and Processing Emotions
Therapy helps teens identify and name difficult emotions, linking them to the experiences and root causes that shape their reactions. By drawing these connections, they gain clarity on where they have control and where they can practice acceptance, reducing feelings of helplessness.
Encouraging Positive Change
Seeing the results of even small adjustments in thoughts and actions reinforces healthy habits and encourages continued self-improvement. Teens begin to recognize that the way they respond to challenges directly impacts their confidence and overall well-being.
Developing Life-Long Skills
Adolescence is a critical time for establishing social, emotional, and cognitive strategies that will support long-term success. Through therapy, teens learn to:
- Set and respect personal boundaries
- Regulate emotions in a constructive way
- Make informed, healthier decisions
- Communicate needs effectively
- Navigate relationships with confidence
If your teen could benefit from a supportive environment and practical guidance, we’d love to hear from you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my child need a therapist?
Parents often begin to consider therapy for their kids when certain problems present. Common issues include:
- becoming disinterested in things they used to enjoy
- dramatic downswings in academic performance
- low self-esteem, negative self-talk, or poor body image
- social withdrawal from peers and activities
- excessive mood swings, anger, irritation, or avoidance
- disordered eating or sleeping patterns
- indications of alcohol or drug abuse
- recent transitions such as divorce, moving, or changing schools
- losses such as breakups, friendships ending, or the death of a loved one
Other kids may not show any particular behavioral problems, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t issues in their lives that can benefit from a listening ear. In fact, high-achieving and socially well-received kids often get overlooked when it comes to support. Sometimes these kids are simply successful at hiding their negative emotions and experiences but are still struggling underneath.
Wherever your child falls on the behavioral spectrum, therapy is a valuable resource for better navigating the various challenges adolescence presents.
What if my child already has a strong support system?
As therapy for adults becomes more widely normalized, parents are recognizing the value of supporting their children’s mental health through counseling as well. Even teens who have a strong support system often benefit from having one adult in their life whose dedicated role is just to listen to them without judgment and help them process their thoughts and feelings.
A therapist provides a safe haven where a teen can speak freely about difficult and confusing topics and receive support and guidance. Additionally, the therapy relationship is compartmentalized to a particular time and place apart from the rest of the child’s life. Teens are empowered through therapy to foster positive growth and strengthen relationships at home, in school, and within their social circles.
What are some concrete ways therapy helps kids?
Wherever your child is starting out, their therapist works with them to establish a steady foundation to respond to the challenges of youth and teen life in healthier ways. Our therapists help adolescent clients:
- discover and claim their interests and passions
- formulate and follow through on personal goals
- develop a healthy sense of autonomy and self-direction
- establish good study habits and practical approaches to school
- better regulate emotions to avoid being swept away and overwhelmed
- channel aggression or anxiety to more positive outlets
- understand and implement healthy boundaries with peers and adults
- find productive ways to communicate their needs and desires
- resist negative peer pressure and avoid risky situations
- build resilience in the face of life’s uncertainties
What age children do your therapists see?
Our adolescent therapy sessions are for clients from ages 15-19. And, of course, kids are welcome to keep seeing their therapist even as they transition into adulthood.
What does a therapy session for a child look like?
Therapy for kids is in many ways similar to therapy for adults, just tailored for the particular challenges of adolescence. Our therapists meet their clients where they’re at emotionally and work to cultivate a safe space to begin to get to know them. In the initial session, the therapist will ask about the child’s hobbies and interests to understand what motivates and excites them. The therapist will also invite them to talk about school, friends, and whatever is going on in their lives lately.
Getting to know a little bit about what’s on the child’s mind lets the therapist know how to proceed. Some kids open up quickly and are eager to talk, while others need more time to begin to feel comfortable with a new adult. Our therapists move at a pace that fits the child’s personality to ensure a solid foundation for discussing more difficult issues later. They’ll also make sure the child understands what the purpose of therapy is: to talk about what you’re going through and ultimately discover new ways to address whatever challenges you’re facing.
As appropriate, the therapist will follow up on clues to deeper issues and ask the child to talk more about certain things if they’re ready. As rapport is established, the therapist will facilitate discussions that helpfully reframe problems and invite the child to consider active steps to address thought sequences and behavioral patterns that are affecting them negatively. At future sessions, they’ll ask how the child is feeling about the steps they took, provide encouragement, and continue to collaborate on developing strategies to cultivate better mental health.
Is my child’s therapy session confidential?
Therapy for teens can be set up at different levels of confidentiality. Some kids only feel safe opening up in a therapy relationship that is strictly confidential. Others don’t mind if their therapist discusses things with their parents and might even want the therapist to take on this role at times. Sometimes a child will ask for a parent to come to therapy with them for a session or two, so they can share their thoughts and feelings with their therapist present.
The most important thing is that the level of confidentiality is agreed upon and understood clearly by all parties. Trust is essential to therapist-client relationships as well as relationships between parents and children. Teen therapy exists for the sake of supporting kids through a challenging period of life, not as a means to funnel information to the parent that the teen wouldn’t otherwise share. To be sure trust is maintained, establish confidentiality guidelines in conversation with your child and their therapist at the outset of the relationship. This also demonstrates and reinforces one of the things the therapist will be helping the child understand: honest communication and healthy boundaries.
Note that there are rare cases where therapists are required by law to break confidentiality, most often only in situations where the client is an imminent physical threat to themselves or others. The bar for this is high, and therapists are trained to know when to intervene on behalf of a client who may be in danger or pose a danger to others.
What if my child resists going to therapy?
Some kids welcome the chance to talk to a therapist, while others will express disinterest or scorn or even outright refuse to go to therapy. It’s important to remember that therapy only works for a client if they are a willing partner in the therapeutic relationship. There’s no point in forcing your child to go to therapy if they are absolutely against it.
If you expect to encounter resistance when bringing up therapy with your teen, consider your approach carefully. Make sure you avoid implying in any way that you want your child to go to therapy because something is “wrong” with them. Don’t use shame or guilt or try to manipulate or pressure them. Also, don’t bring the subject up in passing or when tensions are high. Make sure you introduce the idea when you and your child are both calm and when you have plenty of time to discuss the topic.
If your child reacts negatively to the idea of going to therapy, try gently to understand where the negativity might be coming from. They may not realize that the relationship with their therapist can be set up to be confidential. They may worry that they won’t like their therapist and will be stuck in an ongoing commitment to see them. They may have social concerns about telling their friends they’re in therapy. Whatever their reasons, you’ll have a better chance at getting genuine buy-in if you stay grounded, don’t escalate, give them time to consider their options, and address their concerns honestly.
Can my child go to therapy online?
Yes, we offer therapy sessions both online and in person at the Music City Psych office in Nashville, Tennessee. Your child can attend therapy via telehealth if you live outside the Nashville area or if remote sessions are just a better fit for you and them. To protect your child’s confidentiality, be sure they are able to attend remote therapy sessions in a space where nobody can overhear them.
If you live in the Nashville area and are interested in in-person teen therapy sessions, our office is located near the Belle Meade and Green Hills neighborhoods, with convenient access to The Gulch, Music Row, Hillsboro Village, Brentwood, and downtown Nashville.
