Adolescent and Young Adult Therapy

The struggle is real.

When you look at everyone around you, it seems you missed a critical memo. Your social media feeds flood with manufactured perfection, including filtered and photoshopped lives, reflecting fairy tales.

What you see there “feels” like it is an honest representation of their reality, but you know better. The shiny lives of your social contacts are far from perfect. But it doesn’t stop you from comparing how you feel inside to what you see on everyone else’s outsides. You may be comparing apples and oranges, but you are not measuring up, and it feels pretty sh*tty.

Everyone else has “it” figured out and has a “thing” and a roadmap. Everyone looks so happy. Compared to everyone else, you have nothing figured out and are entirely in the dark about who you are, what you want, and your current direction. These doubts leave you wondering what is wrong with you.

Striving to keep up sounds great, but you don’t know with whom or what. You do, however, acutely experience the riptide current pulling you under every damn day. There is supposed to be a finish line, but there isn’t even a buoy in sight – as you exert more effort and barely tread water.

A + B ≠ C

For as long as you can remember, you received constant drilling about the markers and milestones measuring “success.” Success meant obtaining a full social calendar, more followers, external validations, a chiseled physique, good grades, a college degree, a relationship, a stable career, or pleasing others.

These measurements equate “success” with “happiness.” Therefore, the more success you obtain, the happier you will be. This distorted formula implies that not having these things dooms you to an unfulfilling life full of pain and suffering.

It doesn’t help that the world is currently ruthless and unforgiving. Even under the best of circumstances, adulting is – well, hard.

Is this really all there is?

It might be impossible to see through another lens, but there is another way. The vital component making the adulting experience more palatable is knowing who you are exactly.

Together, we will uncover your values and beliefs, discover the specific ways to empower you to make intentional choices align with those values, and recover your sense of purpose, passion, and direction to propel you into the life you imagine for yourself.

You might be thinking, “No offense. But like you are old, like my parent’s-age, O-L-D. And old people are pretty lame.”

Well, you’re not wrong. I am a fossil. But I am not entirely lame and can provide you with some straight talk to help you find your way.

It’s about finding the right adult.

I have a lot of life experience and valuable training. I once was your age and confused about how to manage adulting. When I floundered, I needed someone to give me straight, honest answers to my pointed questions.

I desperately wanted direction but was regularly met with militant commands or sugar-coated sentiments. At 19, the first time I went to a therapist, she called me out on my bulls*t excuses as to why I floundered.

She was old but turned out to be the adult I needed.

I learned to connect the dots and stop sabotaging my life.

So, when I set out to become a therapist, I was fiercely motivated to help young people find the resources and support they needed to make lasting changes in their lives, primarily because I did not have those adults in my life. There is a healthier way, and my goal is to help teens and young adults learn to live with intention while navigating tumultuous and tricky life transitions that appear necessary in the human experience.

I’ve worked most of my career on school campuses (grades K through college students) and know something about what young adults face in the modern, digital world. I also have raised three of my kiddos, who are over 20 now. I put myself through the same wringer as you, and then my kids put me through another. Conversely, I have been down this road myself and have the roadmap to help others.

Are you ready to join me on the road leading you back to your unbridled spirit, unlimited power, and uninhibited joy?

Call today – 530.208.9424 – or email me (lisaolsonmft@gmail.com) and schedule a consultation. I will help you find your way back to you!