Individual Therapy for Tweens & Teens
Supporting Los Angeles adolescents navigating anxiety, big emotions, ADHD, school pressure, relationships, family stress, identity, and the challenges of growing up.
Adolescence is complex. Therapy can help make sense of it.
Growing up means navigating more independence, changing relationships, increasing expectations, and emotions that aren't always easy to understand or manage.
What parents see on the outside doesn't always tell the whole story. Defiance may be overwhelm. Withdrawal may be anxiety or hurt. A lack of motivation may come from pressure, discouragement, or fear of falling short.
At Kincove, we look beyond the behavior to understand what's underneath it. Therapy helps young people better understand themselves, manage emotions, strengthen relationships, and develop greater confidence and independence.
What Brings Adolescents to Kincove?
Some struggles are easy to see. Others can be much harder to recognize.
Anxiety, Overthinking & Perfectionism
Constant worry, overthinking, fear of making mistakes, high expectations, or difficulty relaxing and letting things go.
Big Emotions & Emotional Regulation
Irritability, shutdowns, emotional outbursts, quick escalation, or difficulty calming down after conflict.
Neurodivergence, Executive Functioning & School Challenges
Difficulty with focus, organization, motivation, time management, task initiation, or differences in learning and processing.
Friendships & Relationships
Changing friendships, conflict, exclusion, social comparison, dating, difficulty connecting, or uncertainty about where they fit.
OCD & Intrusive Thoughts
Unwanted or repetitive thoughts, reassurance seeking, checking, rituals, or behaviors used to reduce anxiety.
Self-Esteem, Identity & Sense of Self
Self-doubt, comparison, being highly self-critical, questioning who they are, or struggling with confidence and belonging.
Family Conflict & Connection
Frequent arguments, difficulty with boundaries, shutting down, pulling away, or feeling misunderstood at home.
Growing Independence & Launching
More freedom and responsibility, preparing for college or life after high school, making decisions, and navigating changing roles with parents.
A Private Space for Teens. Support for Parents.
Teens need a space that's truly their own. Parents need support and guidance. We believe both are essential.
Therapy gives adolescents a confidential relationship with their therapist while keeping parents thoughtfully involved in the process. Parent update sessions are typically held every 4–6 weeks to discuss progress, ask questions, and better understand how to support your child outside of therapy.
The goal is to protect the trust that makes therapy effective while giving parents the insight and guidance to better support their child.
How We Work with Tweens & Teens
Our work with adolescents is relational, developmental, and grounded in curiosity rather than judgment. We help young people understand what they’re feeling, recognize patterns, and develop healthier ways of coping, communicating, and relating.
Therapy looks different for each person. We combine relational and insight-oriented therapy with practical tools from ACT, DBT, and CBT, depending on what each client needs.
Trust takes time. We create space for a genuine relationship to develop so teens can feel comfortable being themselves, talking openly, and doing meaningful work at their own pace.
Fees and Insurance
Kincove is a private-pay, out-of-network practice. We provide superbills that can be submitted to your insurance provider for potential reimbursement.
We’ve partnered with Mentaya to make using your out-of-network benefits easier. You can check your benefits and estimate your potential reimbursement below.
A limited number of sliding scale spots are available based on financial need.
Trends in Adolescent Mental Health
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Over the past decade, there has been a staggering rise in reported depression and anxiety among adolescents. Girls have experienced a 135% increase in mental health struggles since 2010, and boys have seen a 161% rise. This underscores the pervasive impact of modern stressors on young people's emotional well-being.
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The sharp increase in mental health issues correlates with the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media around 2012. Adolescents aged 15-24, the group most immersed in digital platforms, show the steepest declines in daily face-to-face social interaction—once a critical buffer against stress and loneliness.
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Since 2010, adolescent girls have seen a 135% increase in mental health struggles, including depression, anxiety, and self-harm behaviors.
Girls are disproportionately affected by social comparison pressures and online interactions, with 60% reporting feelings of sadness or hopelessness compared to 40% of boys (2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey). This marks the highest level of emotional distress recorded in decades.
Stress and Emotional Regulation: Adolescent girls are more likely to ruminate on negative experiences and are more sensitive to social feedback, due in part to hormonal changes and brain development.
These factors increase their vulnerability to stress and interpersonal conflicts.
Brain Development: The limbic system (responsible for processing emotions) develops earlier in girls than in boys, while the prefrontal cortex (responsible for impulse control and decision-making) is still maturing. This can make emotional regulation particularly challenging for adolescent girls.
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Boys have experienced a 161% increase in mental health struggles since 2010, highlighting the profound impact of societal changes on their well-being.
While boys report lower rates of depression and anxiety than girls, their distress often manifests in externalizing behaviors such as anger, aggression, and risk-taking.
Suicide remains a leading cause of death among adolescent boys, with rates significantly higher than those of girls.
Boys are less likely to seek help, and their struggles may go unnoticed until they reach crisis levels
Stress and Emotional Regulation: Boys may struggle with identifying and articulating emotions, a skill that is still developing in adolescence. This can lead to bottled-up emotions that manifest as outbursts or risky behavior.
Brain Development: Boys’ brains develop differently from girls', with their prefrontal cortex maturing later. This region governs impulse control, decision-making, and emotional regulation, making boys more prone to risk-taking and impulsive behavior during adolescence.
Boys often have heightened sensitivity to reward systems in the brain, leading them to seek out risky or competitive activities to cope with stress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about therapy? Explore some of our most common questions about working with tweens and teens at Kincove
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There isn't always a clear moment when therapy becomes the right next step. Sometimes it's anxiety, changes in mood, school stress, relationship difficulties, or conflict at home. Other times, it's simply noticing that something feels different.
Individual therapy provides a space to understand what's happening beneath the surface and develop healthier ways of managing emotions, relationships, and everyday challenges.
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The first session is about getting to know one another. Your therapist will spend time learning about what's been going on, your history, what brought you to therapy, and what you'd like to get out of it.
It's also a chance to ask questions, get a feel for your therapist, and see how the relationship feels. You don't need to know exactly what you want to talk about before you come in.
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Parents are an important part of the process, but they aren't part of every session. Individual sessions give adolescents a relationship with their therapist that feels like their own, while parent update sessions every 4–6 weeks provide time to discuss progress, concerns, and how to support their child outside of therapy.
Our goal is to keep parents meaningfully involved while protecting the trust and privacy that allow therapy to be effective.
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What you talk about with your therapist is generally private, with exceptions related to safety. Your therapist won't report everything you say back to your parents.
At the beginning of therapy, we'll talk clearly about confidentiality, what stays between you and your therapist, and when parents may need to be involved.
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Finding someone you feel comfortable talking to matters. During the complimentary consultation, we'll learn more about what's been going on, personality, preferences, and what you're looking for from therapy.
From there, we'll thoughtfully recommend the therapist we believe will be the best fit, rather than leaving you to choose from a list of names.
Reach Out
Complete the form below to tell us a little about your child and what you’re looking for.
Someone from our team will be in touch within 24 hours to help you find the right support.
