When Teens and Young Adults Seek Therapy
Adolescence and young adulthood are crucial stages of identity formation. During these years, individuals are actively shaping their beliefs about who they are, their value, their sexuality, and their place in the world.
Teens and young adults often come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, misunderstood, or ashamed. Some struggle with anxiety, depression, emotional reactivity, or family conflict. Others quietly cope through behaviors like pornography use or compulsive masturbation, especially when these behaviors have become a way to manage stress, loneliness, shame, or emotional pain.
Therapy offers a space to slow down and understand what is happening beneath the surface — not just behavior, but identity.
Common Reasons Teens and Young Adults Start Therapy
Teens and young adults often seek therapy for:
Anxiety or depression
Low self-esteem and identity confusion
Family conflict
Social stress and peer dynamics
Emotional dysregulation
Sexual compulsive behaviors, including pornography use
For some teens and young adults, pornography or masturbation becomes a coping strategy. While it may temporarily soothe distress, it can eventually create cycles of secrecy, shame, and internal conflict.
This is a foundational developmental window. The way a young person interprets their struggles — especially around sexuality — can deeply shape their long-term self-worth and relational patterns.
Sexual Behavior, Shame, and Identity Development
In Sandy, Utah and surrounding communities, teens and young adults are influenced by family values, religion, peers, social media, and cultural messaging. Sexuality can often be framed in rigid or negative ways, leaving individuals confused about what is normal, healthy, or acceptable.
When pornography becomes a coping skill, the struggle often becomes less about the behavior itself and more about the meaning attached to it.
Healing is more than sobriety.
Recovery is not just about stopping a behavior. It is about:
Healing distorted views of self
Developing self-acceptance
Cultivating self-compassion
Understanding sexuality in a grounded and integrated way
Without this deeper work, shame can persist even if the behavior decreases.
Our Approach to Teen & Young Adult Therapy
Our work follows a clear and intentional order:
1. Emotional Awareness & Identity Work First
We begin by helping teens and young adults become more emotionally aware of their internal world — especially the beliefs they hold about themselves and their sexuality.
Using Internal Family Systems (IFS) parts work, we help identify protective parts that may use pornography or other behaviors to cope with pain, loneliness, stress, or shame. Rather than shaming these parts, we approach them with curiosity and compassion.
Through EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), we address underlying experiences that may be fueling negative self-beliefs or unresolved trauma. This allows painful memories to be reprocessed and internal narratives to shift toward what is truthful and grounded.
The goal at this stage is not behavior control.
It is emotional integration and identity stabilization.
2. Behavior Modification Second
Once emotional healing begins and shame decreases, we then focus on behavioral strategies:
Identifying triggers
Building alternative coping skills
Creating accountability structures
Strengthening impulse regulation
Reducing reliance on pornography and compulsive behaviors
Behavioral change is more sustainable when it grows from self-understanding rather than fear.
What Therapy Looks Like
Therapy provides a consistent, confidential space where teens and young adults can explore their inner world safely.
Sessions may include:
Processing emotions in real time
Identifying internal parts and belief systems
Reprocessing painful memories with EMDR
Developing emotional regulation skills
Creating healthier coping strategies
For teens, parents may be involved when appropriate, supporting alignment at home while maintaining developmentally appropriate privacy. Young adults are supported in building autonomy and self-trust.
Goals of Teen & Young Adult Therapy
Therapy is designed to support emotional growth and secure identity development. Goals often include:
Reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms
Increasing emotional regulation
Healing shame around sexuality
Building a stable sense of self-worth
Developing self-compassion
Reducing reliance on pornography or compulsive behaviors
Strengthening healthy coping strategies
Benefits of Therapy
As therapy progresses, many teens and young adults report feeling less ashamed and more emotionally grounded.
They begin to:
Understand why they cope the way they do
Respond to stress with greater awareness
Experience less secrecy and internal conflict
Develop a healthier, more compassionate view of themselves
Over time, individuals build resilience — not just sobriety, but a stable identity rooted in authenticity and self-worth.
Teen & Young Adult Therapy in Sandy, Utah
Big Valley Therapy provides therapy for teens and young adults in Sandy, Utah who are navigating anxiety, depression, identity struggles, and sexual compulsive behaviors.
These years are foundational. The beliefs formed now about self, worth, and sexuality can echo well into adulthood. Therapy offers a grounded place to shape those beliefs in healthier, more integrated ways.
Get Started with Teen & Young Adult Therapy
You don’t have to navigate this season alone.
If you or your teen are struggling with emotional challenges, identity confusion, or compulsive behaviors like pornography use, support is available.