Empowering Parents to Grow Together
Vancouver Counselling Clinic is here to provide a safe and welcoming space, where your concerns about your teen’s emotions, behaviours, relationships, and mental health can be addressed by working with a trained professional using evidence-based approaches.
Join us in learning about how teen counselling can help set your child up for the rest of their lives. Teen counselling can also improve your relationships at home by healing from hurtful conflicts and fostering better relationships at home for your family.
- Improve your ability to cope (AKA. parental stress)
- Improve your perception of your child’s characteristics (AKA. child-related stress)
- Identify and address dysfunctional interaction patterns in your parent-child relationship
3 easy steps
Step 1
Therapist Matcher
Let us match you with the best therapist for your needs.
Step 2
Say Hello
Connect from home for your free 15 minutes virtual call with your future therapist.
Step 3
We’ve Matched!
We will book your first session together. Begin your journey with us on this road of exploration, healing, and growth.
No more “I should probably try therapy” energy – let’s actually do it.
Why is it harder to parent my teenager than when they were young?
Teenagers are in a special developmental period, where they have different cognitive abilities and emotional coping skills than adults or young children. Teen counselling can be helpful for parents as it provides integral information about your child’s mental health development that isn’t provided by schools.
Parenting teenagers can be especially challenging as your child is working on differentiating themselves from their parents and their family as part of their healthy development of self. This differentiation of self is a healthy developmental stage where the teen begins to notice and challenge routines, habits, rules, and other norms. These push-backs or disagreements can lead to emotionally triggering arguments between siblings and parent-child relationships.
Supportive Parenting for Teens
As a parent, you can play an integral role in your teen’s life by providing them access to teen counselling and by being a supportive parent through their counselling sessions. Teen counselling for your adolescent can be helpful in fostering important life skills that include:
- Problem solving skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Communication skills
- Executive functioning skills
- Emotional coping skills
- Self-soothing, self-care, and relaxation skills
- Stress management skills
How does teen counselling help parents?
Teen counselling encompasses a wide range of topics, which can be helpful in guiding them towards healthy development. For neurodivergent teens (such as subclinical ADHD, non-medicated ADHD, teen ADHD, or teen ASD), teen counselling can be very helpful in gaining skills that allow them to “get things done” by managing their time, paying attention, flexible thinking, making plans, staying organized, and recalling details. It can also be helpful in gaining the communication and emotional coping skills that allows them to foster healthy interpersonal relationships, including their relationship with you.
Teen counselling can be different from school counselling, which is more focused on your teen’s academic and emotional functioning at school. Here are a few important topics that we have had past successes with:
Family & Life Changes
- Avoiding or disrupting a regular routine
- Dismissing or not respecting curfews and rules around the home
- Changing or switching between homes
- Having a younger sibling to care for, such as a new baby in the house
- Recent immigration or long-distant parent
- Having new family members or new stepfamilies
- Experiencing the death or loss of a family member
- Surviving a recent accident or traumatic incident
School, Friendships & Academic performance
- Challenges with grades or performance
- Giftedness, managing exam stress and performance anxiety
- Changing schools, fighting with friends, and losing friendships
- School absenteeism, skipping classes, and chronic tardiness
- Social withdrawal, social anxiety, and shyness
- Bullying, cyberbullying, and peer pressure
- Addictions - substances, gaming, and social media
- Learning challenges and learning disabilities
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Neurodivergence and Autism Spectrum
Healthy Habits & Development
- Trouble with sleep, including too many worries to sleep, night terrors, nightmares
- Food intake and restrictions, weight loss, and eating disorders
- Healthy ways to cope with stress
- Excessive exercise and body image
- Pre-puberty or puberty, including hormonal changes, menstrual cramps, mood swings, menstruation
- Sexual development and positive sex education
- LGBTQ+ identities and sexual orientations
Moods & Control
- Anxiety - excessive and uncontrollable worries
- Depression - feeling hopeless, down, and useless
- Self-harming behaviours
- Suicidal thoughts and behaviours
- Aggressive and defiant behaviours (rebellious)
- High conflicts, mood swings, or angry outbursts
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Self-esteem issues and negative core beliefs
In-Person Session
$170
60 minutes
30 min. with Child + 20 min. with Parent(s) + 10 min. Clinical Notes
In-Person Session
$255
90 minutes
45 min. with Child + 35 min. with Parent(s) + 10 min. Clinical Notes
Hear from our clients…
It’s such a relief to talk to someone who actually gets what it’s like being LGBTQ+. No weird looks, no judgment—just real support. I can finally be myself.
They really understand what it’s like growing up with Asian family expectations. I didn’t have to explain everything from scratch. Therapy helped me find a way to set boundaries without feeling like I was disrespecting my culture.
I honestly couldn’t do therapy if it weren’t for the evening and weekend times. They really work around my schedule, and it never feels rushed. Super knowledgeable and easy to talk to.
I was completely burnt out from work. As a healthcare worker, I’m used to putting others first—but therapy helped me draw the line and get some balance back.
I used to feel like anxiety was running the show. Now, I’ve actually got tools that help. I finally feel like I’m in the driver’s seat.
It’s so ADHD-friendly here. The sessions have structure, but there’s also room to adapt depending on how my brain’s working that day. No judgment—just stuff that actually helps.
For the first time in a long time, I feel safe opening up. It’s clear they really understand trauma, and the way they show up—it just makes healing feel doable.
I was totally running on empty. Therapy helped me reset, figure out where to draw the line, and start feeling like myself again.
Accepted by Insurance Providers
Direct Billing Available with Our Partners
+12 of the best insurance providers in Canada trusts us to provide you with the highest level of care and service.
Teen Counselling FAQs for Parents
How much does teen counselling cost, and is it covered by insurance?
Sessions are $160 (virtual) or $170 (in-person) for 60 minutes, and $245 (virtual) or $255 (in-person) for 90 minutes. In-person sessions build in dedicated time with you as the parent (roughly 20–35 minutes, depending on length), not just your teen. We offer direct billing with most major Canadian insurance providers, including Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, and Pacific Blue Cross.
How much will I know about what my teen shares in session?
Teens generally need to feel their sessions are a safe, confidential space in order to open up, so your therapist won’t relay things word-for-word. That said, you’re not left in the dark — in-person sessions include built-in time with you to talk through progress and patterns, and your therapist will always loop you in directly if there’s ever a safety concern.
Does my teen need to want to come, or can I bring them even if they're hesitant?
It’s common for teens to be reluctant at first, especially if counselling feels like someone else’s idea. Our therapists are used to working with resistant or quiet teens and go at their pace to build trust. The free 15-minute matching call also helps, since your teen gets to meet their therapist before committing to anything.
Do I need to be involved as a parent, or does my teen attend on their own?
A bit of both. Teens get their own one-on-one time to talk openly, and in-person sessions also build in a portion just for parents, so you stay in the loop on the bigger picture without sitting in on your teen’s individual time.
What ages do you work with in teen counselling?
Our teen counselling is generally designed for ages 13 to 17, with child counselling available separately for ages 6 to 12. If your teen is right on the edge of that range — just turned 13, or close to 18 — reach out and we can help figure out the best fit.
Do I need to give consent, or can my teen book their own sessions?
This depends on your teen’s age and comfort level, and our team will walk you through exactly what’s needed for your situation. Generally, parents are involved in getting started, and as teens get older, their own agreement to participate becomes an increasingly central part of the process too.
Meet Your Future Therapist
Lori Wang
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Works With
- Children & Teens
- Adults
- Couples & Partners
Speaks
- English
- Mandarin
Kemmy Wong
Registered Social Worker
Works With
- Teens & Adults
- Couples & Families
Speaks
- English
- Mandarin
- Cantonese
Kelsey Lee
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Works With
- Teens & Adults
- Couples & Families
Speaks
- English
- Hakka
- Mandarin
- Cantonese
Raajbir Virk
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Works With
- Children, Teens & Adults
- Couples & Families
Speaks
- English
- Punjabi
- Hindi
Ann
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Works With
- Teens & Adults
- Couples & Families
Speaks
- English
- Mandarin