How Group Coaching Helps Teen Girls with Anxiety

If you know a teen girl who has struggled with anxiety, you understand how debilitating it can be. While some teens may have self-diagnosed anxiety disorders, only a trained psychologist can make that call. Other teenage girls get anxious from time to time, but they may not have a diagnosis that requires medication or one-on-one therapy. Group coaching can prove helpful.

Even teen girls who struggle with social anxiety can benefit from group coaching. While it may take a little more time, group coaching has been shown to help teen girls with social anxiety learn skills such as social problem-solving, how to be assertive, and cognitive restructuring.

Social anxiety is marked by persistent fear of embarrassment in social situations, and it can severely limit teen girls’ acceptance of themselves and ability to acclimate to new environments. Group coaching can help them learn to reframe the thoughts that got them into an anxiety spiral or learn how to handle socially awkward situations better.

What girls can learn from group coaching.

According to Treating Anxiety in Adolescents by authors Alison Mazur-Elmer and Dawn McBride, “group therapy for adolescents complements the normal developmental tasks and provides a place where participants can safely share similarities and take risks with others.”

In other words, girls learn they can trust other girls. Through group coaching, the teens slowly become comfortable, as guided by a trained, licensed psychologist often specializing in adolescent cognitive behavioral therapy, taking risks in the group that they may not have taken on their own or in therapy one-on-one with a psychologist.

Developing bonds of trust helps guard against thought patterns that are unhealthy and unproductive, which can hinder a young girl’s willingness to enter into social situations. Group counseling offers a place where they learn they won’t be judged for their words or teased for their opinions; it is a safe, warm environment where they’re accepted and seen.

Other skills teen girls can learn from group counseling are listening skills, empathy, and an awareness of the present day.

Whereas individual therapy may focus more on past experiences, group coaching looks to the present and the future to help young teens learn how to operate from a healthier place right now and continue those healthy mental habits tomorrow. Girls learn how to look forward with confidence and reframe thoughts that once held them back, and through the encouragement of their peers, they can take steps to overcome what once seemed like an obstacle.

Group counseling also helps teen girls learn they are not alone.

It is powerful to understand that what you’re going through isn’t as isolating as you once believed. Whether a teen struggles with social anxiety or general anxiety, her concerns are real to her. Being in a group environment helps her see that they are real to others too.

Instead of feeling discounted or unheard, teens know they can share what challenges them today and find tools to cope better with those challenges tomorrow. Some of the tools that a psychologist leading group counseling might use include goal mapping, identifying thought patterns that aren’t helpful for those goals, and planning ahead.

Goal mapping is simply recognizing something the teen wants to achieve, do, or overcome in the future. Thinking through how to accomplish the goal involves planning ahead and breaking those plans into small steps.

The analysis of this process, as a teen moves forward, helps her learn how to identify thought patterns that might be getting in her way. In group counseling, girls can grow their awareness together, giving each other tools to recognize ways of thinking and perspectives that are not helpful.

Why group coaching can be more effective than individual counseling.

You might wonder why a teen girl can see a trained counselor for years on her own but make more progress, particularly with peer interaction, in a group of teens her age.

This is because teens are in a developmental stage where they need others their age to affirm what they are seeing, hearing, and feeling before they can assert themselves to move forward.

Group coaching is facilitated by a trained psychologist, but it works in concert with the other girls in the group. The psychologist may lead the group by asking a question, but hearing the other girls’ answers can spur another young teen to hear her thoughts echoed back to her.

This level of awareness might be just the prompt she needs to see where her spiraling thoughts have become too comfortable and are holding her back from what she really wants in life.

How to encourage your teen to seek group coaching.

Helping your teen daughter move toward a group coaching session can be difficult. Some ways to encourage her toward therapy are:

Find a group counseling session that starts small.

Look for something that is less than six sessions or that lets her try out the group during an open season, so she doesn’t feel that she is committing to anything long-term.

Look for group therapy that involves creative counseling techniques.

Creative techniques can include things such as games, crafts, or art. These may be more appealing since they seem less like talk therapy and more like activities. The group aspect also takes the pressure off of your teenage daughter having to talk the entire time.

Ask about goals. Ask if she has any goals for the next few months or anything she wants to do this year. Instead of focusing on her anxiety struggles, try to help her focus on the motivation behind overcoming anxiety. If she wants to learn how to ride a horse or finally try out for cheerleading, that can be a great reason to seek outside help.

Remind her that you are for her.

Even when parents mean well, they sometimes tend to talk at their teens instead of giving them the autonomy they need. Teens are developing a sense of independence, and they might shutter the ideas you suggest for one simple reason: They are your ideas and not theirs.

If this is the case, let it go. Just hug your daughter or spend time with her doing an activity she enjoys. When the timing is right, she may find a group on her own and ask for your support to attend.

When group coaching isn’t enough.

While some teen girls find all the help they need to move forward in group coaching, others may need the group and a one-on-one counseling series. This is common among older teen girls who have had a longer history of anxiety.

If your teen has been in group coaching and didn’t find it helpful, here is how you can help. First, listen. Many teens just need a calm, caring parent who can hear their concerns.

Second, ask an open-ended follow-up question. For example, if your teen says group coaching didn’t help because she did not know what to say, you might ask, “What did you think of what other girls shared?”

This carefully avoids asking her to share another girl’s confidence, which is part of the safe environment that a group coaching environment creates. Instead, it gives your teen a chance to share her thoughts and why she either connected to the other girls or didn’t.

Finally, if your teen seems receptive, it may help to share an experience you tried that didn’t work for you. Whether you were an adult who took a job that didn’t work well with your personality or you were a teen who tried to assemble a club that fizzled, it’s not about the specific example.

Sharing from your own life lets your daughter see that not everything is a perfect fit the first time. She can learn from your experience when you explain how you felt, the way you responded, and even how you wish you had responded. It might give her the nudge she needs to try a new group or seek individual counseling for her anxiety.

Where to find group coaching for your teen.

If you or someone you love is struggling with anxiety, group counseling may be a great way to begin addressing the thought patterns associated with it. It’s important to remember that you (or your loved one) have done nothing wrong.

Our team is here to support you and help you find a great fit. Contact our reception team and we will connect you with group coaching to fit your or your loved one’s needs.