Counseling for teens can be done by several different kinds of professionals. Psychiatrists do the medical side. They assess brain function and prescribe medication if needed. A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) does therapy sessions where the child can talk about issues that are affecting them. A PsyD (doctor of Psychology) can also do talk sessions, but can also do additional procedures such as neurological testing.
A psychiatrist is different than the other two because a psychiatrist is a medical doctor. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication, but they are not required to do therapy. Psychiatrists spend many years in med school and then get a specialized education for psychiatry.
A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) does therapy sessions where the child can talk about issues that are affecting them. LMFTs have a graduate degree in counseling or social work, as well as licensing to practice from their state’s board of mental health. They will often help with emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, abuse, eating disorders, and other issues.
A PsyD (doctor of Psychology) can also do talk sessions, but can also do additional procedures such as neurological testing. The difference between a psychologist and psychiatrist is the level of schooling; while psychiatrists have to go through much more schooling in order to get their specialty degree, psychologists only need a master’s degree and a few hundred hours of work in the field for theirs.
If you’re looking for teen counseling in Orange County, keep in mind that we have all 3 types of counseling here at OC Teen Center.
Our Psychiatrist, Dr. Sayeh Beheshti, is also our founder and medical director. She has been doing this work for over 15 years and is committed to helping kids with problems such as depression, anxiety, abuse, eating disorders, and other issues.
If a psychiatrist appointment is not right for your child, perhaps consider an appointment with our therapists or our PsyD. If you would like to arrange for your teen counseling in Orange County, give us a call today.
DBT is a type of therapy that the licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) might do with teens who come to OC Teen Center for their therapy sessions. DBT is short for Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
DBT is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on helping individuals who are struggling with intense feelings and thoughts, such as anxiety, depression, self-harm behaviors (like cutting), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, anger outbursts or other seemingly unmanageable problems.
Some other types of therapy that are similar top DBT include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Substance Use Disorders (DBT-SUD).
In a DBT or CBT session, the licensed marriage and family therapist will talk with the teen about their feelings, thoughts, behaviors, coping skills they already use or would like to learn more about. They might also come up with a plan to improve the behaviors that have been problematic or to get rid of behaviors that are not helpful or healthy. The psychologists might ask questions about a child’s experience and have them fill out some questionnaires in order to better understand what is going on.
If you want to harness the full power of our entire staff, perhaps consider our full day program, which includes group therapy, individual therapy, and psychologist visits. This program is 6 hours per day, 5 days per week. We offer a full day of treatment that includes schoolwork also, and we treat kids age 12-19.