Resilience Restored Psychotherapy
Teen Therapy in Montclair, NJ & NYC | Support for Adolescents & Parents
Helping adolescents grow while supporting parents through challenging transitions in Montclair, NJ and NYC.
Finding Ways to Be With Oneself
Learning to regulate emotions, examine automatic negative thoughts, and feel more resilient
Having a safe Place to Talk and Explore
Teens need trusted adults with their best interests at heart to listen and help them get to know themselves
Developing New Communication Skills
Learning to name feelings and be able to communicate what is going on with you goes a long way in reducing tension and conflict
Help for Teens | Support for Parents
Let us help you support your teenager during this important transitional time in life from childhood to emerging adulthood.
If you are a worried parent, you are not alone. This generation of adolescents have spent part of their childhood isolated by COVID and are now growing up in what many adults experience as very uncertain times. But adolescence was already challenging enough! Between physical growth, hormonal changes, academic goals, social uncertainties and emerging desires for autonomy and independence, this can be a time of turmoil and struggle for many young people. And if your kid is struggling, most likely you are too. You want to help, but you don’t want to over-react.
Through RRP's developmental approach to adolescence, we help teens talk, normalize their experiences, explore themselves, and accompany them in finding out who they are and want to be. Visit us for in-person teen therapy or attend online across New Jersey.
Teen therapy montclair | Online Across NJ
Parents’ Concerns | Teens' Experiences
“Resilience is not simply about bouncing back; it is about the deep, often transformative process of adapting, growing, and finding meaning in the face of adversity.”
Adolescence isn’t just tough on kids. It’s also tough on the people who love them most–their parents. Part of what they need to do developmentally is to separate from parents, to establish their own identity, which sometimes means making choices, choosing friends, finding styles or adopting values that are different from their parents. What happened to your sweet little kid who couldn’t get enough of you?
Many parents describe feeling both worried and shut out at the same time. You may be especially concerned about big mood changes and fluctuations, school avoidance, intense social anxiety, risk-taking behavior, and breakdowns in communication. You may be simultaneously concerned about over-reacting or under-reacting.
What Teens Say About Their Own Experience
When teens feel comfortable, they will often admit to feeling intensely emotional and much more upset by things than just a couple of years before. They worry a lot about fitting in, what their friends think, getting into “a good college,” why they can’t seem to turn off their minds, and even pleasing their parents and teachers. Young people want more autonomy and independence, but they also often feel like they don’t know how to do what adults expect of them. Teens can feel misunderstood or unseen, frequently confused about their identity, and whether and where they belong. It’s a big life task to figure out who you are and who you want to be.
Teen therapy Montclair | Online Across NJ
What Therapy Looks Like for Teens at RRP
Many teens are reluctant participants in therapy at first. Our first priority is making a connection with your child that feels safe and collaborative to them. It is really important for them to feel seen, heard, and understood. We also may work on skill development. Some teens need support developing skills around emotion regulation, more effective communication with both friends and adults, and planning and problem-solving. Many teens need help slowing down enough to know what it is they are feeling (“is this sadness or frustration?”) in order to then be capable of expressing those feelings or internal states in a way that people in their lives can hear them and join them. When families are willing, the therapist may be a very helpful third party to find common goals among parents and teens. We balance teens’ need for privacy with parents’ need to stay meaningfully informed and connected.
How We Support Parents and Caregivers
Parents are an essential part of a teen’s health and growth. We are happy to coordinate with parents to offer:
guidance on how to respond to teens’ behavior
tools for strengthening connection
strategies for setting limits with empathy and understanding
help with difficult conversations
Teen therapy montclair | Online Across NJ
A Developmental Understanding Informs our Approach
Our approach to working with teens at Resilience Restored Psychotherapy is braided with three main threads: a developmental perspective, understanding basic neuroscience, and the common elements of good psychotherapy.
Adolescents are experiencing enormous changes in their bodies and even in their brains. They become more capable of self-reflection, are developing more of a sense of their own identity and how others see them, and are more capable of abstract thought. These are all capacities necessary for healthy adulthood. But, with the hormonal changes they are experiencing, sometimes this self-awareness can be too intense, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, and tendencies to take risks they don’t recognize as risks.
Erik Erikson was among the first to talk about adolescence as a unique and important developmental period that involves the task of establishing a solid identity. A young person is trying to develop a reasonably positive sense of self, while answering the central question, “Who am I?” This is when having other trusted adults involved in your teens’ life can be very important: teachers, coaches, other parents, religious leaders, and therapists.
Parents know that adolescents are vulnerable to unsavory and untrustworthy influences, too much screen time, too little in-person contact, and too much influence by social media. It is normal for teens to want to have a little more privacy from parents and siblings. But if they are offered a safe and supportive environment, they are often willing to share and explore aspects of life or themselves they may be struggling with and still receive guidance and support from an adult who has their best interests at heart, prioritizes their safety, and wants to work collaboratively with them and their families.
We provide you with multiple ways to be in touch depending on your comfort. If you are ready to get started by scheduling a free 20 minute consultation with one of our therapists, click the “book now” button. Alternatively, reach out through our “contact us” button, email us directly at info@resiliencerestored.com or call us at (201)-292-0581. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing how we can help restore your peace of mind.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone. We are here for you in Montclair
and all of NJ and NY
ABOUT US
Why Work With Resilience Restored Psychotherapy
We are all wiser and more resilient than we know.
At Resilience Restored Psychotherapy in Montclair, we believe that resilience is your birthright, ready to be awakened.
No matter the challenges you’ve faced, there’s an inner strength within you waiting to be unlocked. We understand that during times of struggle, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or stuck. But we also know that when you’re supported by someone who holds space for your process, helps you reflect, and asks the right questions, healing and growth become possible.
Our focus is on guilding you from survival mode to a place where growth, hope, and thriving can take root. With years of experience in resilience, trauma, and personal growth, we use evidenced-base approaches like AEDP, IFS, EMDR, DBT and psychodynamic work to help you reconnect with your true self, heal from the past, and create the meaningful connections you deserve.
Eileen M. Russell, Ph.D.
Founder & Director
The values behind Resilience Restored Psychotherapy
Compassion
We believe in meeting each person with deep empathy, seeing their beauty and goodness through their struggles, and holding space for their pain with care and understanding.
Patience
We know healing takes time. We provide a patient, supportive space where you can trust the process and slowly build the belief that you are worthy of care and change.
Trust
With over 25 years of experience, we trust in the power of the therapeutic relationship to help you heal, grow, and navigate life’s challenges with strength and resilience.
Our Approach
Frequent Questions
Deciding whether or not to reach out to a therapist on behalf of your child is challenging.
1. How do I know if my teenager needs therapy?
Certainty is rare. Your concern is worth a simple call. If you notice lasting mood changes, anxiety, withdrawal, school avoidance, escalating conflict, or behavior that feels out of character, a consultation can help clarify whether therapy would be useful.
2. What if my teenager doesn’t want therapy?
Reluctance is common. Our first goal is helping teens feel respected rather than pressured. Many become more open once they feel genuinely understood.
3. What concerns do you commonly help with?
We frequently support teens experiencing anxiety, depression, school stress, social struggles, family conflict, identity questions, emotional dysregulation, and life transitions. If you are unsure whether we are the right fit, we are always glad to talk.
4. Will I be included in my teen’s therapy?
Yes. Parents are vital partners in a teen’s growth. We maintain thoughtful communication with caregivers while also protecting appropriate privacy so teens can speak openly and safely.
5. Do you offer support for parents too?
Yes. Parenting a struggling teen can feel overwhelming and lonely. Parent guidance or individual therapy can provide space for support, reflection, and practical strategies that strengthen connection with your child.
6. How long does teen therapy last?
Length varies. Some teens benefit from short-term support around a specific issue, while others engage in longer-term therapy that supports emotional development, identity formation, and family relationships. We always decide on length collaboratively with the family.
Teen therapy montclair | Online Across NJ
When Is It Time To Reach Out?
Fortunately, kids in this generation feel much less stigma around therapy than earlier generations. Still, seeing a therapist can make a teen feel like something is wrong with them. Parents who are concerned about their kids can talk to them about how therapy has been helpful to them (if that’s true), how they want their child to have another trusted adult to talk to about emotions or challenging situations they don’t feel ready to talk about with parents yet. Mental health is also a lot like physical health. At a certain age, we have to start learning to actively take care of ourselves, and the teen years are a perfect time. Therapy can be transformative if your teen shows signs of:
- persistent mood changes
- school refusal
- withdrawal from friends
- increased conflict at home
- significant anxiety or worries
- risky behavior
- major changes in eating or sleep behaviors
- body image preoccupation
At Resilience Restored Psychotherapy, we are committed to meeting your teen where they are, helping them with the concrete challenges they face, building resilience, and opening a space for them to talk, get to know themselves, and get the support they need to become the person they want to be. We want to partner with parents to open lines of communication and connection, reinforce learning in therapy, clarify expectations and accountability, and support kids’ agency and autonomy as well as their embeddedness in family and community.
If you are wondering whether therapy might help your teenager, we invite you to reach out. A brief initial conversation can help clarify what your child is going through and whether additional support would be useful at this time. There is no pressure to commit to anything—just an opportunity to think together about what your teen and your family may need.
Supporting a teenager can feel demanding and, at times, lonely. You do not have to navigate it on your own. We would be honored to walk alongside you and your child.
From Our Blog
Resilience Restored Psychotherapy in montclair | Online Across NJ & NY
How To Get Started
At Resilience Restored Psychotherapy, we’re here to help you start your journey toward healing. Schedule a free consultation with us via the contact form below, or book directly by clicking the Book Online button. We’re here to support you every step of the way.
201-292-0581
85 Park St., 2nd Floor, Montclair, NJ 07042
220 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Teen therapy montclair | Online Across NJ
Resilience Restored Psychotherapy
Go beyond surface healing—experience deep emotional transformation from the inside out.
Authored by Eileen M. Russell, Ph.D. Senior Faculty, AEDP Institute, and author of Restoring Resilience: Discovering Your Clients’ Capacity for Healing (W.W. Norton & Co., 2015).
Last Updated: February 2026