Therapy for TeenAGERS in South Pasadena
At Carter Psychotherapy Collective in South Pasadena, we provide developmentally appropriate therapy for teens that helps adolescents feel understood and supported as they navigate difficult situations, build healthy emotional regulation strategies and develop effective communication skills.
Our practice focuses on supporting teens who are struggling with burnout, anxiety, depression, body image issues, eating disorders, or challenges related to their relationships. We also love working with teens around their emerging sense of identity. We are vigorously LGBTQIA+ affirming and experienced in supporting neurodiverse teens.
We offer in person therapy in South Pasadena as well as online therapy for older teens with busy schedules. Several of our therapists also offer evening or weekend appointments.
Meet our Teen Therapists
-
![Maureen Cassidy, AMFT]()
Maureen Cassidy, AMFT
Identity exploration, creative teens, ADHD, mood and anxiety support
-
![Toph Eggers, AMFT, Therapist in South Pasadena]()
Toph Eggers, AMFT
Healthy masculinity, depression, creative and artistic teens, athletes, relationships
-
![Lianna Kirakosyan, eating disorder therapist in Los Angeles and South Pasadena]()
Lianna Kirakosyan, LMFT
perfectionism, eating disorders, high achieving teens, anxiety and OCD
-
![Allison Carter, LCSW, Eating Disorder Therapist in South Pasadena]()
Allison Carter, LCSW
eating disorders, anxiety and OCD, creative and high achieving teens
Therapy That is spacious and practical
Therapy helps teens work through their emotions, develop coping skills, and understand their evolving identities. Here’s how we help:
a non-judgmental space to be heard
We provide a non-judgmental, supportive space where your adolescent can talk openly about their lives. We help them connect with their feelings, identify their strengths, and understand their needs.
new ideas for how to cope
Emotion Regulation: We teach teens how to manage overwhelming emotions and improve emotional regulation.
Communication Skills: Therapy helps teenagers develop the ability to communicate their feelings, needs, and boundaries effectively.
Balanced Thoughts: We teach adolescents how to interact with their thoughts so they can lean into their strengths, increase self compassion, and develop a growth mindset around life’s difficulties.
Mindfulness: We help teenagers start to develop somatic awareness so they get grounded and learn to be true to themselves.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
In addition to offering a supportive, affirming space for teens to process their day to day lives, we are home to therapists with advanced training in the following areas:
-
If your teen is struggling with body image issues, disordered eating, or eating disorders, we offer therapy that can help them develop a healthier relationship with food and their body.
-
Adolescents exploring their gender and sexual identity can benefit from therapy that provides a safe, affirming space for self-discovery. We help teens navigate the complexities of identity development in a supportive environment.
-
Many teens experience anxiety, depression, and OCD. In addition to offering a supportive, safe place for teens to explore their feelings, several of our therapists are trained in DBT and CBT (including TF-CBT, exposure and response prevention, and inference based CBT). These approaches can help teens understand and manage their symptoms and develop healthy coping mechanisms.
-
High achieving teens, such as academically ambitious teens, athletes and creative individuals, often face unique challenges related to performance, burnout, self-esteem, eating disorders, and mental health. We offer therapy tailored to support these teens in managing stress, maintaining balance, and thriving in their personal and professional lives.
-
We offer a compassionate space for teens to process grief and loss. Adolescence is already full of change, and the additional loss of a loved one can add tremendous strain. We help teens understand their grief and find the way back to themselves.
-
We offer affirming therapy for teens with ADHD as they work to understand their minds and bodies, get to know their strengths, figure out systems that work, and process feelings that come up as they balance school, relationships, and extra-curriculars.
Meet Teen Therapist Maureen
hello!
“I especially love working with teens because they are true works in progress: funny, honest and resilient. Their metamorphosis from child to adult is a time when they are exploring who they were and who they are now becoming, physically, socially, emotionally and mentally. This is their time to experiment, make mistakes and test boundaries. They are becoming young adults right before our eyes and it’s a privilege to be a part of their process.”
4 Steps To
Get Started
-
Fill out the contact form. Share as much or as little as you’re comfortable with.
-
We’ll have a 15‑minute call to answer any questions, explain how we work, and see if our approach feels like a fit. We’re happy to offer separate consultations for parents and teens, to just chat with a parent, or to meet all together.
-
We’ll map what’s hardest right now, what your goals are, and begin to get to know each other.
-
Regular sessions to offer emotional support and teach new strategies for coping with difficulties.