Rapport is everything. Here’s what we, as mental health professionals working with teens, forget to do to build it.
+ Why the latest stats are a cry for help
Disclaimer: This newsletter provides general advice for educational and entertainment purposes only, it is not intended to be professional therapeutic or medical advice. Please speak with a registered mental health professional or book a session here to receive professional support.
Hey - This blog post is from my professional newsletter.
The Professional Cocoon is for fellow professionals working with young people, every fortnight I share my latest tips and insights for you to use in your practice with young people this week.
I’m excited to announce I still have a few spaces left for my last
Working with Adolescence Masterclass for 2024!
Friday, 26 July 2024
10:00 am - 1:00 pm, 3 CPD hours (attendance certificate provided!)
For counsellors, social workers, psychologists and related professionals working with teens.
Covering rapport building and how to master social and developmental challenges that come with
adolescent clients.
Save your spot here to join our small, curated group to become the best teen counsellor you can be!
What’s the latest news on young people..
Healthy communication and relationship building is not always a priority or an easy skillset for our teens.
Which is why we need extra skills to make up for their lack.
To build an easy, natural therapeutic relationship that is not authoritarian, but also not a friend.
To build a relationship where they can experience unconditional positive regard in the way we intend for them to experience in, in a way that clicks with them.
Rapport is everything.
⭐ Common barriers to rapport that I have experienced over 100’s of reluctant, shy, unsure teen clients include:
Generational differences
Resistance from teens AKA entering the room automatically on the defence, ready to be suspicious and not trust us
Our motives and desire to connect continuing to push them away, due to expressing it in the wrong ways
Differences in personalities, life experiences, attitudes, culture
Client anxiety and shy-ness, not giving us much to work with..
Sound familiar?
Mental Health is the number one reason young people visit their GP’s, who may only have 10 minutes to assess and support.
Young people frequently see multiple therapists, multiple health professionals, falling in “gaps” of the system, partially in my opinion due to not finding the right support for them that clicks with who they are and what they need from health professionals.
When a young person is in front of us in our therapy room (virtual or in-person)..
We have a major opportunity to hold onto them (autonomy and consent providing).
Here’s how.
Here is the 1 skill for building rapport that I share with every fellow adolescent therapist I meet.
⭐Match. Their. Energy⭐
Now, i’m not saying if you have a quiet, reluctant teen - you also cross your arms and stare at the floor.
But when I have a client who isn’t bouncing in the room spilling all their emotions and wishes for therapy (which like… never happens), I pause before doing MORE.
The mistake we make when rapport building is doing MORE.
Asking more questions.
Asking what they want (uh, they likely have no idea).
And honestly, they say this pushes them away more and avoid therapy all together.
For example, I will think..
”What does this client who is shrugging and staring at the floor NOT want from me right now?”
(probably forcing them to talk, more questions, making them put in so much more effort).
”What DOES this client want from this experience right now?”
(For it to be over, to be doing something else, to not feel anxious).
How can I maybe tell them a story about something weird or funny I saw today?
How can I take the focus off them a little and engage like I would with a normal person I would meet in a cafe?
If they give me anything (eg. They like gaming, they like tik tok, they like this specific artist) - How can I casually go down that rabbit hole with them?
Can they show me one of those things on their phone?
Can they teach me something?
Obviously, this is different when it’s session 10 and it has been all silence or funny tik tok’s, but especially in those initial stages…
👀
Who does this teen need you to be right now?
Instead of who YOU and other adults in their life want them to be?
P.S!
👋 If you struggle with rapport with your clients (because all kinds of challenges can present depending on the kid!), just pop me an email back and i’m always happy to offer a tip or strategy for what you’re struggling with!
I’ll be sharing 3 hours worth of practical strategies in our Masterclass this Friday,.
Participants have been sending in challenges they are having with teen counselling, so I have curated case studies based on these key issues for us to tailor strategies to specific situations, to ensure we all leave feeling confident and supported.
There’s still time to send in your wishes for the day, sign up here and i’ll email you the details!
Do you struggle to manage current topics such as sex with teen clients
without ruining rapport?
Koin me + a small collection of fellow likeminded mental health professionals for a 3 hr masterclass to explore rapport building, client resistance and how to expertly navigate modern teen issues in 2024!
Join me + a small collection of fellow likeminded mental health professionals for a
3 hr masterclass to explore
rapport building, client resistance and how to expertly navigate modern teen issues in 2024!
Here’s what one of our treasured past attendees had to say:
“I really took a lot away from today which I can now use in my practice.
I think the framework Ellie has created is wonderful and I LOVE the concept behind Cocoon.”
Nailing Adolescent Counselling:
Small Group Masterclass
Spaces are filling up quickly and this group will not run again until 2025.
Save your spot now!
Friday, 26 July 2024
10:00 am - 1:00 pm, 3 CPD hours (attendance certificate provided)
For counsellors, social workers, psychologists and related professionals working with teens.
Feeling lost or unsupported in working with adolescents?
Or know a colleague or someone on your team who could use some extra individualised support?
I have created a small, intimate group masterclass with all of my best strategies and approaches for professionals to explore the key foundational frameworks and strategies to work with teens.
Teens are a very special population with unique presentations and issues, and require a specialised approach that we were not taught in our generalised training.
Join us for 3 hours of learning and applying specialised strategies to in-depth case studies and discuss what you are struggling with at the moment with 1-1 coaching to dive deep and leave you feeling confident and empowered in caring for adolescents.
I’m Ellie.
Bachelor of Arts (Psych.), Master of Counselling
I am a specialist in adolescent therapy, after specialising in both my degrees, clinical placements and further training in adolescent, youth and family therapy. I run Professional Development trainings and workshops for fellow therapists working with teen counselling.
I specialise in Youth Trauma and Grief, with comprehensive additional training in family therapy, child and adolescent counselling, supervised by Sydney's leading family and child therapists and organisations.
I now run an online practice where I see clients, create content and workshops, as well as educate fellow professionals in adolescent counselling through professional development trainings and lecturing in adult tertiary education.
Have a qu or want to chat? I’d love to connect!
Connect on linkedin or send me an email