Find Your Teenager a Therapist Who Gets It
Find compassionate teen counseling in Philadelphia at Melanated Women’s Health.
Offering In-Person & Virtual Services.
Teen Counseling in Philadelphia
A Space Just for Them
Being a teenager can be a lot. School pressure, friendships, family expectations, social media, identity, relationships, anxiety about the future, and figuring out who you are can all be happening at the same time.
Teen counseling gives your child something that even the most supportive parent can’t always provide: a private space with a trusted professional where they can talk honestly without worrying about disappointing, upsetting, or protecting the people they love. Counseling can help teens better understand what they’re feeling, communicate what they need, and build coping skills they can carry into adulthood.
By working with parents and school professionals, culturally competent teen counselors at Melanated Women’s Health can help guide your child into a healthy and successful life.
Does My Teen Need to Start Counseling?
When It’s More Than a Rough Patch
You know your teenager, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always know what they’re carrying. Teens often communicate that they’re struggling through changes in behavior, relationships, school, or mood long before they’re ready to sit down and say, “I need help.”
Your teenager doesn’t need to reach a breaking point before counseling makes sense. Sometimes getting support earlier gives them the tools and language to handle what’s happening before it becomes even harder to carry.
Your teen may benefit from counseling if they’re experiencing:
Anxiety or constant overwhelm
School, relationships, expectations, and uncertainty about the future can start to feel like too much to manage alone.
Changes in mood or behavior
Increased irritability, sadness, withdrawal, emotional outbursts, or simply seeming “not like themselves” can be worth paying attention to.
Relationship issues & struggling to fit in
Conflict, bullying, breakups, peer pressure, loneliness, or feeling like they don’t fit in can have a very real impact on a teen’s mental health.
Identity, racism, or discrimination
Teens of color may be processing racial stress, code-switching, discrimination, cultural expectations, or questions about identity that they don’t always know how to bring up at home.
Low self-esteem or pressure to succeed:
Perfectionism, comparing themselves to others, negative self-talk, academic stress, and feeling like they’re never “good enough” can take a toll over time.
What Does the Research Say About Teen Counseling?
Research involving nearly 26,000 children and young people found that the benefits of psychological interventions were still measurable a full year after treatment ended. Researchers analyzed 138 randomized trials and found improvements across a range of mental health concerns that persisted at 12-month follow-up.
Another meta-analysis looked at psychotherapy as it’s actually delivered in routine settings like outpatient clinics and schools. The researchers found that psychological treatment was effective for young people ages 4–18 experiencing internalizing mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression.
And when researchers analyzed 52 randomized trials, evidence-based youth psychotherapies performed better overall than usual clinical care. Their analysis estimated that a randomly selected young person receiving evidence-based psychotherapy had a 58% chance of doing better than a randomly selected young person receiving usual care.
The research isn’t saying that counseling makes every problem disappear. It tells us something more useful: teenagers can benefit from having evidence-based mental health support, and those benefits can extend beyond the therapy room.
SOURCES:
- Pilling, S., Fonagy, P., Allison, E., Barnett, P., Campbell, C., Constantinou, M., et al. (2020). Long-term outcomes of psychological interventions on children and young people’s mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 15(11), e0236525.
- Wuthrich, V. M., Zagic, D., Dickson, S. J., McLellan, L. F., Chen, J. T-H., Jones, M. P., & Rapee, R. M. (2023). Effectiveness of psychotherapy for internalising symptoms in children and adolescents when delivered in routine settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 26(3), 824–848.
- Weisz, J. R., Kuppens, S., Eckshtain, D., Ugueto, A. M., Hawley, K. M., & Jensen-Doss, A. (2013). Performance of evidence-based youth psychotherapies compared with usual clinical care: A multilevel meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(7), 750–761.
Meet Jisu Pyo
Jisu Pyo (she/her) is a Korean-American therapist in Pennsylvania who provides therapy in both English and Korean. With lived experience as an immigrant and a deep understanding of cultural identity, intergenerational pressure, and the first-gen experience, she offers a compassionate space for clients navigating anxiety, depression, grief, life transitions, and relationship challenges.
Jisu specializes in therapy for Asian-American and Person of Color communities, using a trauma-informed, multicultural lens. She integrates CBT and mindfulness to support clients through self-esteem concerns, academic or career stress, and bicultural identity work — all with warmth, respect, and a sliding scale for those who qualify.
Give Your Teen Another Person in Their Corner
We Accept Some Insurance:
The practice is in-network with some plans from Aetna, Meritain, Highmark, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Anthem, and Federal Employee Program.
If you are unsure if we are an in-network provider for your plan, feel free to contact us for more information. We offer the courtesy of assisting all potential clients with mental health benefits verification for insurances that we accept. This is because we understand how difficult it is to find a therapist who accepts insurance, and figure out the cost of therapy using insurance benefits on your specific plan.
We also recommend that you check with your health insurance provider to confirm if we are in-network with your insurance and to verify the mental health benefits on your specific insurance plan.
For insurance plans that we are not in network with, we can offer you a Superbill at the end of an appointment for you to submit for any out of network benefits you may have.
Fill Out The Contact Form Below To Get Started
Frequently Asked Questions:
What if my teenager doesn't want to go to therapy?
That’s not unusual. Teens may worry about being judged, forced to talk, or having everything they say reported back to their parents. A good teen therapist will take time to build trust rather than expecting your teen to open up immediately.
Will I know what my teen talks about in counseling?
Teenagers need privacy for therapy to feel safe and useful. Your therapist will explain confidentiality and its limits to both you and your teen, including situations where a parent or caregiver would need to be involved for safety.
What can teenagers talk about in counseling?
Pretty much anything that’s weighing on them. Anxiety, depression, friendships, family conflict, school pressure, relationships, self-esteem, identity, racism and discrimination, life changes, or simply feeling overwhelmed are all welcome in the therapy room.
Can my teen see a therapist who understands their cultural background?
Absolutely. For teens of color, having a therapist who understands how culture, race, identity, family expectations, and discrimination can affect mental health may make it easier to feel seen and talk openly about what they’re experiencing.
Does Melanated Women's Health only offer therapy for women's issues?
Though the practice was founded to address melanated women’s concerns including reproductive justice, perinatal health issues, racism based stress, refugee and immigrant challenges as well as trauma, our Therapists are committed to providing therapy to people with other identities. We believe that every person regardless of their demographic background, can benefit from receiving therapy from a melanated therapist. For this reason, we provide individual therapy to adults of all gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and culture.
You are not in-network with my insurance. Can I still use my out of network benefits with one of your Therapists?
Absolutely! If requested, we can provide you with a Superbill at the end of the appointment for you to submit to your insurance provider for reimbursements of any out of network benefits you have on the plan.
If you are unsure about your exact out of network benefits, you can contact the Member Services, Customer Service, or Behavioral/Mental Health number on the back of your insurance card, and ask the following questions:
- Does my health insurance plan include out of network benefits for mental health – office visit?
- Do I have a deductible? If so, what is it, and how much has been accumulated so far?
- Does the deductible apply to mental health- office visits?
- Does my plan limit how many sessions per calendar year I can have? If so, what is the limit?
- Do I need written approval from my primary care physician in order for services to be covered?
- What would be covered if I worked with an out-of-network provider?
- What is the process for me to be reimbursed for out of network benefits?
If you do not have insurance or have financial hardship, Openpath Psychotherapy Collective offers an option for therapy at a sliding scale fee. You can also contact the Loveland Foundation and the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network for mental health funding opportunities.
Do you offer in-person therapy appointments?
We offer in-person therapy appointments, weekdays and weekends, at our conveniently located office in Center City Philadelphia. Our office is accessible by SEPTA, and close to several parking garages.
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Improve Your Mental Wellbeing and Find Peace in Everyday Life With Help From Qualified Black Therapists & Therapists of Color
