REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKING
An integral part of therapy for any adolescent is family involvement.
We do require participation of both parents /guardians (if applicable) at least once a month in a family session to the extent that it is feasible in order to reinforce skills learned in session and to keep them appraised of progress and areas of concern. If both parents / guardians cannot attend sessions together due to conflict, separate sessions may be arranged if approved by both parties.
If both parents/ guardians cannot attend, we require at least one be present for a family session at least once a month.
Learning new skills is challenging at any age, so we ask that families be prepared for the commitment to therapy and bringing their teen once a week at a minimum until they are stable and demonstrating ability to use healthy skills on their own.
Clients under the age of 18 years of age who are not emancipated, and their parents, should be aware that the law may allow parents to examine their child’s treatment records. One of the major purposes of therapy is to create a safe place for your teen to discuss any topic in a healthy manner. Many adolescents will not open up and reveal information if they are aware that the information will be disclosed.
East Valley Trauma Counseling, LLC requests your child’s privacy be honored during the course of therapy unless he or she discloses harmful situations, at which time you would need to be involved in treatment for us to discuss how to keep your child safe.
Counseling is not meant to be long-term, and it is ideal to attend 12-15 sessions in order to learn and master skills. After this, teens can drop down to once every 2-6 weeks if they are not acting in any way that is harmful to themselves or others.
Experience has shown that revealing therapy notes or the content of conversations can harm the trust relationship between therapist and an adolescent. No matter how carefully this is explained, the teen can invariably feel betrayed and may no longer choose to be in therapy with the individual who released the information. Sometimes this breach of trust may have an impact on other relationships as well such as the relationship between the parent(s) and the child(ren).