Matthew Lindgren
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Oakland Therapist for Teen and Adolescent Therapy
Matthew Lindgren uses EMDR and therapy to help teens and adolescents in Oakland with conduct disorder, social anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
- Oakland Therapy for Teens and Adolescents
- Motivational Interviewing for Teens in Oakland
- Oakland Mindfulness Based Therapy for Teens
- EMDR for Teens with Conduct Disorders in Oakland
- Oakland EMDR for Teens with Social Anxiety, Social Phobia, and Performance Anxiety
Oakland Therapy for Teens and Adolescents
Teens and adolescents are going through a stage of life in which they are learning to be independent as they prepare to go off into the world. For parents, this can be a difficult time because it often means that you no longer share the closeness you once had.
Teens can and do often have mental health concerns that require therapy. Instead of depending on you as a role model, it is common for teens to seek out adults outside their family to serve as models for the people they would like to be. Often performers and entertainers from popular culture fill this role, but teens often do relate well to safe, caring, and strong adults who can help them along. I am very happy to serve in this role for Oakland teens.
In my work with Oakland teens, I focus on helping them reach goals that are important to them. This might include doing better at sports, doing well socially, or even becoming independent from their parents. When teens are motivated to work toward goals that matter to them, I find that they naturally work on mental health concerns important to their parents.
I help Oakland teens with a wide variety of concerns, including depression, anxiety, PTSD and trauma, child abuse, sexual abuse, assault, rape, panic attacks, phobias, social anxiety, foster care, divorce, and grief and loss. I also work with teens who have witnessed or experienced violent crimes, including gang violence and homicide, through the Victim Compensation Program.
Motivational Interviewing for Teens in Oakland
Therapy that is mandated or forced usually doesn't work very well. Any form of therapy can only work if the person being treated wants to do the hard work, no matter what the age.
Motivational interviewing is a technique common to addiction therapy where a therapist works with a person who has an addiction to help them find their own motivation to recover. Because addiction is so difficult to stop, a person has to have a very clear sense of their goals and reasons for wanting to recover in order to change.
Many Oakland teens are halfway between being children with very poor impulse control and frustration tolerance and adults who have the insight and reason to make decisions that are difficult now but pay off in the long run. Like addicts, many teens may not be able to make the changes they want because they simply don't have the cognitive and emotional maturity to stick with their decisions. This is why I use motivational interviewing techniques with teens. I know that if therapy is going to happen at all, that it will have to be entirely on their terms, because they're learning to be independent adults.
I find that teens, like adults, have a good knack for finding the right motivation in exactly the kinds of things they need. As a therapist, I respect their right to make their own decisions, just as I would with the adult version of themselves that I hope to help them become.
Oakland Mindfulness Based Therapy for Teens
I find that teens respond very well to therapeutic techniques that allow them to practice and master skills that help them in ways they care about. Many Oakland teens are motivated toward social success and to over come insecurities. I find that teaching teens mindfulness based meditation techinques - such as mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) - helps teens to stay calm, cool, and collected. Teens than make smart decisions, appear wise to their friends, and perform better in sports and other competitions.
Mindfulness based therapy helps teens master their conflicing emotions - from anxiety, body images concerns, and even anger management. This mastery of their emotions and mind helps teens feel more confident and outgoing. Mindfulness based therapy is particularly effective for teen depression, especially when combined with cognitive behavorial therapies such as dialectical behavoral therapy (DBT).
I try to teach mindfulness based therapy skills to all my teen and adolescent clients in Oakland. In my work at Blackbird Family Therapy, Inc. in Oakland, I facilitate teen meditation nature retreats to teach mindfulness based therapy as well as social skills.
EMDR for Teens with Conduct Disorders in Oakland
I am trained in a highly effective protocol that uses EMDR therapy to treat teens with conduct disorders. By working with goals that are important to teens, I am able to help them see that their choices do have consequences, and to help them make choices consistent with their life goals.
EMDR is a powerful therapeutic technique that can dramatically help people who have suffered trauma, but it can also be used for life coaching and work with teens. I am happy to offer this technique to teens in Oakland with conduct disorder problems.
Oakland EMDR for Teens with Social Anxiety, Social Phobia, and Performance Anxiety
If your teen is particularly motivated to succeed socially or to compete academically or in athletics, they may be willing to participate in EMDR therapy for social anxiety, social phobia, or performance coaching.
EMDR is a wonderful technique to help with fear of pubic speaking, test taking anxiety, social anxiety, or a variety of other fears or concerns.
Call 415-820-1487 for a free phone consultation.