Author: Eva Carlston Academy

“Fitting in” is a big priority for adolescents. That motivation paired with intense peer pressure makes for a combustible combination.

Peer pressure reaches its peak around 15 years old and usually subsides around 18 when individuals begin to feel more confident about their identities and setting boundaries with peers and friends. However, many middle school and high school experiences are turbulent because of the strong pull of peer pressure in many different forms.

About 85% of high schoolers have experienced some form of social pressure. Because of this, 75% of adolescents have reported having tried alcohol and 70% of teens reported starting a smoking habit. Eva Carlston Academy notes that it’s never an easy environment to navigate but falling prey to peer pressure doesn’t have to be a coming-of-age rite of passage.

Types of Influence

Peer pressure comes in many forms — it can involve everything from being told how to dress to feeling pressured to have sex — but there are six main types.

Spoken influence is arguably the most common form. It is characterized by individuals, or groups of people encouraging someone to take part in some type of behavior. Group influence is usually stronger than that from one individual. The pressure to conform to certain behaviors or trends is considered unspoken sway.

In the realm of peer dynamics, pressure can take various forms. While direct peer pressure is explicit and commands specific behavioral conformity, indirect peer pressure stems from an internal conflict, compelling individuals to align their actions with certain expectations. This internal struggle often speaks volumes about the profound impact of peer influence.

There is also a positive aspect (positive choices and lifestyle decisions), which encompasses a range of uplifting behaviors and lifestyle choices that are fostered and championed by either an individual or a collective group. It involves the promotion of constructive habits, attitudes, and values that contribute to personal growth, well-being, and overall happiness.

Feeling the Pressure

Teenagers face numerous situations where they may feel pressured to conform socially. It’s a stress that is felt more intensely since teenagers are facing situations they probably have never experienced before.

This includes drinking or trying drugs, having sex, stealing, or shoplifting, dressing in a certain way, or driving without a license.

In the realm of peer influence, individuals can find themselves entangled in situations where they feel compelled to distance themselves from specific individuals, or refrain from forming connections with them. These emotionally charged scenarios add a layer of complexity and can be particularly detrimental to those involved.

Many who have experienced peer pressure say it comes with feelings of loneliness and anxiety but can also have a lingering impact. Feeling stress or anxiety, for example, to lose weight, can quickly lead to eating disorders and long-term body image issues.

Tips on Dealing with Social Influence

Successfully navigating peer pressure relies on knowing oneself and trusting one’s gut. The old strategy remains true: If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Follow those instincts.

That goes hand-in-hand with thinking about the consequences of one’s actions. Will there be trouble stemming from the situation, perhaps being suspended from school, or grounded at home? Thinking about the lifestyle impacted can be effective deterrents.

One of the best approaches is understanding that saying “no” is OK, especially to requests or suggestions that make someone uncomfortable or unsure. If it’s easier, making an excuse to leave a situation often works well. Others rely on busying themselves with something positive they enjoy, such as gardening, reading, or playing sports.

Some find it best to avoid certain situations or environments where peer pressure has been experienced before. Handling such situations is often easier after talking about it with trusted allies, such as parents, friends, or mentors, since this experience can be very isolating.

A school counselor or professional therapist can also offer good advice on how to deal with certain peer pressure situations but having just one friend also say “no” to peer pressure makes a very big difference.

Developing Resilience

Navigating peer pressure is never easy, especially when it is subtle. A friend may, without words, pressure another friend to do something they aren’t comfortable with.

That’s why teenagers need to be surrounded by positive influences, develop a strong sense of self, and solidify the values likely to guide the rest of their lives.

Being a student is always a challenge: homework, class projects, being social, and keeping up with a part-time job are all common parts of a teenager’s life. Is it too overwhelming though? In this article, Eva Carlston Academy takes a look at why it’s important and valuable for students to engage in hobbies and extracurricular pursuits alongside academic commitments.

Balancing Academia and Extracurriculars

While it might seem like a lot, it’s actually very beneficial for students to have a healthy mix of academia and extracurriculars. It challenges them (in a good way!) and helps them develop skills that’ll be useful when they enter the adult world. Whether the person is a student athlete, has a job outside of school, or does work with an organization they’re passionate about, below are just some of the benefits of maintaining a full schedule:

Personal Development

One reason for students to involve themselves in a wide range of interests and hobbies is for personal development. In the academic setting, there are often limited classes and they’re all very similar. Math, history, and science are commonplace, as well as language classes; however, students can branch out even further from this curriculum by seeking learning outside of school.

Time Management Skills

Another benefit of being a well-rounded person is the ability to handle time management skills. It’s no secret that it’s hard work to juggle homework as well as whatever else goes on at home. Some students will have part-time jobs while others might have internships.

Guess what? The real world requires the ability to manage time well. Being involved in various activities as a student better prepares them to be adults that can juggle their job, home, and/or family responsibilities.

Challenges Comfort Zones

When one never reaches outside of their comfort zone, they’ll never learn new skills or discover that they actually like a specific kind of hobby. By stepping out of their comfort zone, they’ll discover new ways to challenge their ways of thinking or doing things.

Doctors have found that the brain also likes to stay active. It creates new neurological pathways, which keeps the brain healthy and lessons the chances of developing a disease like Alzheimer’s. Besides, maybe a student will discover a new interest that they would’ve never thought to seek out before.

Helps With College Admissions

Colleges and universities seek students who bring more than just academic excellence to the table. While top grades showcase one form of prowess, they don’t necessarily predict success in the dynamic real world. Recognizing that standardized tests aren’t everyone’s forte, and that diverse passions drive individuals in unique ways, it’s crucial to consider the entirety of a student’s journey.

By delving into hobbies and extracurricular pursuits, prospective students reveal a multi-dimensional portrait of themselves. This broader view allows college admissions officers to gain invaluable insights into the character, potential, and fit of each applicant. It’s through this comprehensive lens that institutions can identify those who will not only thrive academically but also contribute meaningfully to the vibrant tapestry of their school community.

Nearly every North American adolescent and teenager uses at least one social media platform daily, with most checking in online constantly throughout the day. But are there negative effects of this type of communication and technology use?

Unfortunately, teens face negative consequences from multiple angles in regard to social media. There are physical effects such as lack of sleep, social effects like cyber bullying, and emotional effects such as low self-esteem. Passive, versus active use of social platforms is a differentiation that will influence which of these outcomes teens will experience the most. 

Below, Eva Carlston Academy takes a closer look at how social media use can cause a decline in mental health, as well as how the use of these platforms can affect teens physically and socially. 

Social Impacts of Technology That Affect Mental Health

Social impacts are experienced more by active users than passive. Cyber bullying is experienced by 10% of all teens that are active on social sites and is therefore one of the most common negative effects overall. Bullying lowers self-esteem and can make teens and adolescents more reluctant to engage with their peers. Plus, when rumors are spread online, teens can face various forms of societal isolation.

Excessive self-absorption is another common side effect of posting frequently on social platforms: teens become more self-centered and end up feeling distanced from people they interact with in person. They can also struggle to connect.  

These impacts can have serious consequences on mental health as well. The abuse from online bullies and the disconnect experienced during in-person interaction increase the risk of experiencing depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.

Emotional Impacts

Emotional impacts are more prevalent in passive users. Teens who spend a lot of time scrolling posts on sites like Facebook and Instagram often compare themselves to the people they view. They believe that others are happier and lead more perfect lives, with flawless skin and attractive bodies. Teens then end up feeling insecure about their individuality and believe they aren’t able to keep up with the rest of their peers or society as a whole.

Unfortunately, negative emotions also increase at high rates as teens try to combat discomforts like loneliness and isolation. As they continue to scroll, feeling worse about their own situations, mental health struggles, such as body-image concerns, depression and self-harm can become more severe.

Physical Impacts

There are two main physical effects that can end up altering the mental health of teens whether they are active or passive users. Studies have proven that longer durations of technology use per day (3 hours or more) especially during nighttime hours can result in a lack of sleep and/or more disruptive sleep. Insomnia can lead to issues like brain fog, stress, irritability, and more.

Spending a large amount of time on social sites also reduces the amount of physical activity that teens tend to participate in. Exercise and outdoor activities release serotonin and endorphins and reduce feelings of loneliness; teens that spend time scrolling through networking sites miss out on these beneficial activities.

On a broad scale, a lack of restful sleep and limited physical activity can result in poor mental health outcomes: depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts all become more prevalent. 

Final Thoughts

It is evident that both passive and active use of social media can easily deteriorate the mental health of teen users. Whether a teen experiences negative social, emotional, or physical impacts from use of networking sites, their mental health can fall by the wayside.

Family traditions can have many purposes and prompt responses ranging from joyful anticipation to sorrowful remembrance. In most cases, traditions play a connective and formative role. Eva Carlston Academy reviews what makes family traditions so important, especially in childhood and adolescence.

The consistent recurrence of traditions can provide comfort and stability in an ever-changing world, especially during the developmental stages. Traditions can also strengthen cultural values and family bonds, support personal identity formation, and promote a healthy work-life balance.

Trimming the Christmas tree as a family, getting ice cream together on Saturdays, or singing Grandma’s favorite song on the anniversary of her passing can make such a big difference in family bonds.

What Makes a Family Custom

While many people associate traditions with long-standing practices passed down for generations, not every ritual began with Great-great-great-grandma. Rather, a family tradition is simply an event or custom that begins somewhere within the family unit and is repeated regularly in the family setting. In a way, it is a family’s own small-scale culture.

Though many family traditions coincide with annual religious celebrations, birthdays, and national holidays, others take place on a weekly or daily basis, or at some other regular interval. Almost anything that a family considers significant and repeats regularly can become a tradition.

For those with contentious family relationships, those who have experienced the loss of their closest family members, and those who live too far away to create meaningful and consistent family customs, creating traditions with friends who act as “chosen family” can offer many of the same social and health benefits as those that unite blood relatives.

The Value of Rituals

While celebratory traditions often become happy shared memories, other traditions may be important reminders of a solemn family event. Despite their different tones, both types of traditions have the ultimate goal of bringing people together. Creating and maintaining the human connections they promote is a critical part of living a happy, healthy, and balanced life.

One of the most common ways to mark a tradition is with a shared meal, which can take place a few times a year or on a weekly or even daily basis. Research has shown that making family dinners a regular occurrence can have a significant positive impact on a child’s development, emotional well-being, and eating habits throughout life.

Sharing a meal with extended family members is also a great way to bring together loved ones who aren’t in regular contact, as it involves temporarily setting aside other activities and devices that often distract from conversation. When it comes to relationships, quality, consistency, and depth outweigh quantity and breadth in promoting lasting happiness and feelings of security.

Making a collective decision to pronounce something as “tradition” can help break up the humdrum monotony of day-to-day life. It can also promote a healthy work-life balance, especially since the pandemic has recently blurred the lines between the family-focused home setting and the productivity-focused workplace.

Examples of Regular Family Traditions

When it comes to defining traditions, there is no hard-and-fast rule as to what “counts” and what doesn’t.

Families that practice a particular religion may observe liturgical holidays, fast days, feast days, or days of rest in accordance with their faith traditions. In addition to these more serious and religiously significant traditions, holidays that began as or have become secular celebrations can also provide an occasion for meaningful annual get-togethers or gift exchanges.

Here are a few examples of annual traditions that are particularly popular and widespread:

• Trick-or-treating on Halloween
• Giving gifts and blowing out candles on birthdays
• Going out for dinner or giving gifts on Valentine’s Day
• Eating a ]meal with extended family on Thanksgiving
• Hunting for eggs and giving treats to children on Easter
• Giving gifts during religious celebrations like Hanukkah and Christmas
• Telling tales of Leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day
• Setting off fireworks on the Fourth of July
• Visiting a loved one’s grave on the day of their passing

In addition to these annual traditions, many smaller-scale traditions take place more frequently, including:

• Reading bedtime stories to children
• Praying before meals
• Volunteering on a regular basis
• Taking turns cooking dinner on different days of the week
• Going out or getting take-out on certain days of the week/month
• Family volunteering projects
• Family game or movie nights
• Seasonal fruit or vegetable picking as a family
• Attending church services together

How to Create and Keep Family Customs

For many, the term “tradition” is tied to holidays, gift-giving, traveling, and catering for a crowd. While some people enjoy going all-out for such traditions, there’s a limit to how often someone can reasonably find the time (and the money!) to plan and execute such elaborate celebrations. There’s a reason that big holidays like Christmas only come once a year!

Luckily, however, not every tradition has to be so grandiose. In fact, many of the most meaningful traditions are fairly easy to organize, affordable to host, and variable in length. Things as simple as “Taco Tuesday,” nightly prayers, and monthly family movie night are great ways to strengthen family connections on a recurring basis.

While family traditions can promote stability and connection, especially for those experiencing the stressful changes of adolescence, having too many traditions risks desensitizing family members to the importance of joining together. Finding a quantity and collection of traditions that appeals to everyone in the family may take some experimentation, creativity, trial, and error.

To promote the connection, comfort, and familiarity at the core of every family tradition, each participant should be encouraged to offer input on how to adjust and improve traditions to make them meaningful for all involved.

Conclusion

Family traditions are integral to identity-formation, especially during childhood and adolescence. Traditions can help to promote a healthy work-life balance and can become the source of many lasting memories. Whether their intent is festive celebration or remembrance and consolation, traditions strengthen human connections through their comforting familiarity and consistency.

Life is easier with a supportive family. Individuals, regardless of their age, require nurturing, soul-calming relationships with their relatives to bolster their confidence and give them the courage necessary to tackle life’s challenges. Eva Carlston Academy reviews that well-documented studies show mental health and well-being are directly related to their familial bonds.

While strong family relationships are necessary at all stages of life, they are particularly important for teenagers, who often go through challenging and uncertain times.

Why Family Connections Are Important

Stability, mental growth, and overall well-being are dependent on family bonds. Without healthy connections, children can struggle to form relationships outside of their homes, leaving them scrambling for friends or partners later in life.

Strong families teach forgiveness and ensure all members know how to build and retain trust in others as they share both good and bad times.

On top of that, they provide children with valuable, healthy conflict-resolving techniques that will serve them well in many situations.

As for the adults in robust families, they benefit from feeling safe, connected, comfortable, and respected by the people they care about.

Strong Family Relationships and the Impact on Teenagers

Teenagers’ relationships with their families change as they hit adolescence. However, they require as much parental and familial support as they did when they were young children.

Adolescence can be challenging. Not only does it bring physical changes, but also emotional ones, causing teens to feel unsure about where they fit in and who they are or want to be.

Furthermore, they may be weighed down by influences from their peers, pressure from school, and many other unique difficulties.
So, the presence of a secure, tight-knit family is crucial at this stage in their lives.

Strong family bonds provide a safe emotional base where teens feel appreciated and loved, regardless of the challenges they may be facing in the outside world. They can improve confidence and optimism while helping them establish their identity and build resilience.

Teenagers in families with clear boundaries, rules, and standards offer consistency and predictability, resulting in feelings of belonging and safety that they won’t get elsewhere.

In short, robust family bonds give teens the tools they need to tackle whatever adolescence throws at them — which can be a massive undertaking.

Steps to Building Strong Family Relationships

While the steps below may sound simple, it’s easy to forget about these important aspects of family life, especially with external stressors. But experts encourage families to follow these seven tips for strengthening their bonds and giving every member safety, comfort, appreciation, and love:

1. Quality Time — Mealtimes provide perfect opportunities for families to sit together, catch up, and have a laugh.
2. Appreciation — Praise and gratitude go a long way.
3. Celebration — Cherish the uniqueness of everyone in the family unit, celebrating their abilities and strengths.
4. Communication — Always respect members’ needs. If they want to talk about something, they deserve the space to allow them to express themselves completely.
5. Teamwork — Sharing household chores ensures every member feels acknowledged for their contributions.

Strong family relationships build resilient teens capable of overcoming setbacks and other life challenges which can support them throughout life. Having a strong family support system is vital for healthy social connections, tenacity, and confidence in themselves.

Adolescence is a time of rapid physical, psychological, and social changes that can be both exciting and challenging. As teens transition from childhood to adulthood, they face a number of difficult issues and emotions that can be intensified for those who have experienced traumatic life events. Eva Carlston Academy reviews that with teens who have experienced trauma, resilience is a key factor in their ability to heal and cope with their experiences.

Resilience is the capacity to cope with adversity and tap into one’s inner strength to keep going, even in the face of challenges and hardships. By understanding the importance of being emotionally strong as a teen, young people can take positive steps to build on their mental toughness and cope with their trauma.

The Impact of Trauma

Trauma can have a severe and lasting impact on the physical, mental, and emotional health of young people. Traumatic events can include physical or sexual abuse, serious accidents or injuries, natural disasters, sudden loss of a parent, or other life-altering events. The effects of these traumatic events can linger long after the event has passed, impacting the teen’s day-to-day functioning and sense of security.

While not all teens will experience the same level of distress, those who have experienced trauma may be more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty developing and maintaining relationships with their peers.

The Importance of Resiliency

When faced with such intense emotional stress, resilience becomes a critical component in helping teens heal and cope. This ability acts as a way to manage adversity and to tap into one’s inner strength.

Resilient teens are often better able to handle emotional distress that can accompany traumatic events and are more likely to process their experiences in a healthy manner. This way, they can overcome the emotional and psychological challenges of trauma while developing through the rigors of teen life.

Building Strength

There are several ways that teens can build inner strength and foster the skills needed to handle stress. Developing healthy coping skills, such as breathing exercises and mindfulness, can help teens identify and manage their emotions effectively.

Additionally, young people may benefit from developing a supportive social network, with friends and family members who can provide support and help them work through difficult times. Finally, teens can benefit from talking to a mental health professional, who can provide guidance and support as they heal.

Seeking Support

Reaching out for help is an important step in the healing process for anyone. Seeking support from family, friends, or professionals can help teens build resiliency and cope with their distress. Additionally, engaging in supportive activities and self-care can help teens build inner strength and deal with their traumatic experiences.

Final Thoughts

Adolescence can be a difficult time for teens, and even more so for those who have experienced trauma. By understanding the importance of being emotionally tough as a teen, young people can take positive steps to build resiliency and cope with life’s issues. While it may take time and patience, it is the first step to long-term healing.

The teenage years are a time for learning and discovery. It’s when children begin to come into their own, but more importantly, to learn how to flourish as a confident human.

Teenagers begin to truly value and understand an array of skills that likely have been shared with them at a young age. They start developing tangible financial and academic skills and navigate complex relationships with peers, teachers, siblings, and parents.

The teenage years are the most formative when it comes to social skills that will remain essential throughout one’s life — both in personal and professional matters. Teaching social skills can be challenging, but it can also be difficult for the person attempting to learn and understand them.

Eva Carlston Academy reports that social skills are among the most important lessons a teenager will ever receive. Here’s why:

It Imparts Communication Skills that Will Always Be Vital

For teenagers, social skills don’t just mean how to get along with people their own age. The lessons learned about language and interactions fuel the way they communicate with professors in college, co-workers, partners, and eventually their own children.

By teaching effective approaches to social interactions, teenagers are set on a path to interact properly with adults and then eventually become more socially responsible adults.

It Helps with Conflict Resolution

Proper social skills in teenagers lead to effective ways to navigate conflict resolution and make better decisions.

For young teenagers, that often comes in the form of peer pressure, whether that means how they treat others their own age or how they avoid situations such as bullying or alcohol/drug temptations.

With the right social skillset developed early, conflict resolution techniques are honed as well. And conflict resolution skills are always valuable.

It Helps Teenagers Gain Confidence and Self-Esteem

At its heart, low self-esteem primarily stems from the view that one isn’t good enough, that they are unlovable or inadequate. Instilling effective social skills early can reverse the epidemic of low self-esteem in teenagers which can lead to dangerous behavior.

Positive social skills including ways to take in and offer constructive criticism, communicate honestly, and be able to advocate for oneself and for others can have a lasting impact on how one feels about themselves for their entire life.

It Helps Develop Purpose-Driven Lives

Teens who develop social skills early are more likely to apply them to the good of the community.

That’s the awesome power of positive social skills. They not only make teens more effective people able to navigate the ups and downs of life but make them more successful citizens.

This comes in small forms, such as discerning the body language and social cues of others in order to form a proper response or larger forms such as helping teens understand the importance of volunteerism and giving back to the community.

Teens with social skills become adults who know how to compliment others, ask others for their opinion, and be empathetic. It helps them respect and honor others’ needs and make people feel welcome in situations that may be stressful and tense.

Good social skills lead to better cooperation, understanding, and affection while still being assertive and able to stick up for oneself.

Teens with good social skills become lifelong good listeners and helpers — and we always will need more of that in the world.

In its original inception, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was intended to ensure that insurance companies cover addiction disorders and mental healthcare with an equal amount of coverage as physical disorders. Despite its status as a codified legal requirement, many insurance companies and doctors have been found to skirt around the law’s provisions.

In some cases, this has led to patients with mental health disorders being denied coverage outright, while in other cases they have been required to pay higher out-of-pocket costs. Understandably, patients feel that their needs are not being met and that they are being intentionally left out of the medical institution. To understand the issues, Eva Carlston Academy examines the MHPAEA and discusses its shortcomings.

The Original Motivation Behind the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

The MPHAEA was passed in 2008 with the intention of ensuring that insurance companies would cover psychological and addiction disorders with the same level of coverage as physical disorders. The law states that insurance companies may not set different limits on mental health benefits than they do for physical health benefits.

This was in response to the long-standing issue of insurers discriminating against psychological and addiction disorders. Mental healthcare has historically been treated as less legitimate than physical healthcare, and as a result, insurers have managed to get away with providing less mental health coverage. MHPAEA, therefore, intended to level the playing field and ensure that psychological and addiction disorders were given the same level of care.

The Shortcomings of the MHPAEA

Despite its good intentions, the MHPAEA has fallen short in its implementation. Insurance companies successfully circumvented the law by outright denying payments or otherwise working with out-of-network service providers to disenfranchise customers with psychological and addiction issues. The result of these practices is that patients with mental health disorders are being denied the coverage they need and are being left to fend for themselves.

The MHPAEA has also been found to be lacking in its enforcement mechanisms. The law gives the Department of Labor the authority to enforce the law, but the department has been slow to act. As a result, patients have been left without any recourse when they are denied coverage.

The Future of the Act

At the beginning of 2022, the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the U.S. Treasury released a joint report discussing the failures of the MHPAEA. In it, the Departments highlighted the lengths to which insurers went to deny customers fair coverage. However, it does go on to outline recent efforts to improve the enforceability of the act.

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the Departments will now have greater power to go after and fine insurance companies who violate the law. It remains unseen how well these new powers will affect the problem but there is hope on the horizon.

The Bottom Line

Although the MPHAEA was intended to improve access to mental health and addiction services, insurers have been able to work around the law, leaving thousands of Americans without fair healthcare. The United States government is now aware of the problem and is working to better enforce its provisions but, for now, it remains unclear whether anything will change.

A group therapy program approaches counseling in a way that is proven to have an impact on teens’ mental health. A study by the Journal of Clinical Child Psychology shows that group therapy is more effective than one-on-one consultations for teenagers and children. Here, Eva Carlston Academy reviews some of the benefits of group therapy for teens.

When teens undergo group therapy, especially ones that experience social isolation, bullying, identity conflicts, and anger management, they’re more likely to emerge with sharpened interpersonal skills. Having a positive peer influence will also help teens feel related to and understood.

There are many benefits to group therapy for teens, including improved confidence and reduced stress. Eva Carlston Academy explains more about the potential group therapy sessions can have on a teenager.

Social Confidence

When young people have the platform to speak and relate to their peers, they’ll gradually develop improved social prowess.

Building confidence by receiving affirmation, validation, and solidarity from people they see as their peers in a group therapy session can help shy teens feel more confident and willing to assert themselves socially.

Communication Skills

Group therapy sessions for teenagers give them the chance to let go of some of the emotions they may be ignoring or bottling up. Unresolved emotional stress causes moodiness, irritability, or defiance; group therapy lets kids navigate their feelings and find ways to express them with people their own age.

Communication skills will also contribute to a student’s personal growth. When teens are able to manage their emotions in a conducive, effective way, they will begin to display traits associated with emotional and social maturity.

Improved Relationships

Group therapy gives teens a chance to nurture their interpersonal relationships, allowing them to better mitigate the ones they encounter outside of a session. If a teenager has a poor quality of social relationships in school, group therapy will allow them to feel as if they’re starting fresh.

Teens can also make friends in group therapy; connecting on a personal level with someone will lead to a deeper friendship.

Positive Peer Influence

According to statistics, 38% of teens have been pressured into doing something they were fully aware was detrimental to their health. When engaged in group therapy, young people will be surrounded by people who are also working to improve themselves, developing healthier ways to relate and cope.

Having their successes and victories celebrated in a group therapy session allows teenagers to overcome their self-doubts and make better choices — leading to more victories. It creates a positive feedback loop that can be beneficial to the long-term goals of group therapy.

Conclusion

Entering a teenager into group therapy can show benefits beyond the stated goal of working through their surface-level worries. Teens who participate actively in group therapy will enjoy feedback from like-minded people at their own peer level, allowing them to make better choices in school and life. The benefits of group therapy for teens are numerous, and their effects will be felt for the rest of the student’s life.

It may seem like a modern alternative treatment tool, but animal-assisted therapy has been around for centuries. Eva Carlston Academy reviews below the various benefits of this therapy for teens going through challenges.

In the late 1800s, the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, saw the recovery benefits that small animals provided to people – the animals helped ease anxiety in both adults in children.

Into the 20th century, Sigmund Freud had his own dog, Jofi, participate in psychoanalysis sessions, in part because patients felt more comfortable at first talking through the dog and not directly to Freud.

By the late 1980s, societies were formed that specialized in providing and supporting animal-assisted therapy. There are a variety of companies that provide animal-assisted therapy certification programs.

Many categorize animal-assisted therapy as thinking outside of the medical box. That may be true, but if animals and humans have co-existed for 50,000 years and domestication began around 15,000 years ago, there is no doubt that animal-assisted therapy treatments for teens can be beneficial.

Animal-Assisted Therapy Explained

Animal therapy runs the gamut. While the most common forms used are domesticated dogs and cats in various ways, farm animals such as horses and pigs, as well as marine animals are also used in therapy.
It can be used in tandem with other forms of therapy, such as PT or cognitive behavioral therapy.

There are different levels of therapy and treatment as well. Dogs may visit those of all ages in a hospital. People of all ages could utilize equine therapy on a ranch designed to focus on therapeutic sessions.

Nursing homes, daycares, mental health facilities, and more also use animal therapies regularly. Many of the dogs, cats, and the like involved are trained to perform their specific duty within a therapy session.

How Animal-Assisted Therapy is Helpful for Teens

Many teens get the same benefits from pet-centered therapy as other age groups. It is designed to bolster well-being and health, and therapies have been shown to do everything from improving mental outlook and cognitive abilities, to easing anxiety and lowering blood pressure.

Doctors and other professionals working with teens who are coping with mental health conditions are increasingly augmenting sessions with animal-assisted therapy techniques.

Pet companionship has been shown consistently to reduce loneliness in teens and offer social support many teens may lack.

On a basic level, animal companionship also help teens who are coping with extreme loss, such as a death of a friend or family, and subsequent grief.

Since many teens with mental health challenges cope with daily anxiety and depression, pet therapies have been shown to raise levels of compassion and empathy. Therapies also trigger the need for and importance of instilling responsibility in teens.

A large number of students have shown other benefits for teens. Animal-assisted therapy often reduces worry or feelings of fear, offers motivation and focus, and may also decrease the levels at which people perceive pain.

Its Benefits May Have Ancient Roots

Several purveyors of experimental therapies subscribe to the Biophilia Hypothesis.

The theory is that people generally have a strong interest in animals and easily attach to them because at one time, man’s survival was somewhat dependent on animals offering signs that a certain area is unsafe.

That’s a good dog!