Teen Counseling and Pregnancy

Being pregnant as a teenager can create a cascade of emotions that require teen counseling. Your teen may feel:

• Trepidation for the future.
• Anxiety about the pregnancy and birthing process.
• Depression if there is little support.
• Worry about disappointing others.
• Heartbreak and grief if the relationship with the father does not work out.
• Fear of being cast out by family.
• Traumatized if the pregnancy is the result of a sexual assault.
• Unsure of whether to keep the baby.

Your child may also feel that the situation is out of their control. Perhaps she is unsure if she should keep the child or place it up for adoption. She may worry that her slip in decision-making led her down a path and that she is far from God.

How to introduce teen counseling for pregnancy

Before you seek the help of a therapist, introduce your child to teen counseling from home. Let her know that you will validate her emotions by listening to her. Encourage her to talk about what happened, her thoughts on what she should do, and her future plans. If the pregnancy is the result of premarital sin, remind her that God is full of mercy and grace and that once we repent and turn from sin, He will hear and forgive. His love encompasses us, and He will care for her child.

Be open to all suggestions. Your teen may feel alone during this pregnancy and wish to give the baby up for adoption. If you are unable or unwilling to raise the baby yourself, help her locate a loving family and decide what type of interaction she will have with her child as he grows.

If the pregnancy results from a sexual assault, encourage her to share her story with the authorities with the help of a counselor. Teen counseling may be what she needs to move through the trauma and view her child as her own and not a product of rape.

Choose a counselor with a background in teen issues and pregnancy. Your daughter’s hormones will continue to shift, and she will need emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual support.

Having a baby is a challenging life event, and having one so young requires mental strength, emotional resiliency, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and perseverance. A Christian counselor can assist your teen in developing these fruits of the Spirit and the necessary skills to bounce back from hard times.

Why you need teen counseling

Your teen is not the only person who will benefit from teen counseling. As a parent, you may feel hurt, betrayed, disappointed, and angry about the situation. It is okay to feel these emotions, however, you need to be able also to support your daughter. The support may be emotional, physical, financial, spiritual, or all of these.

Teen counseling enables families to come together and work through their concerns and fears. Conflict resolution, anger management, and time management are skills your teen’s counselor will introduce. The family dynamic will change with the introduction of a newborn.

Your other children may not know how to treat their siblings and this new baby. Where does the child fit in? Do you treat the child as a grandchild or as your own? If your teen is still under your roof, these lines can blur.

Sometimes parents of pregnant teens assume the role of an extended parent as they try to show their teen how to be a parent and wind up undermining their teen’s authority as the baby grows. Counseling can help parents teach teens the responsibility of parenting while also helping parents take a step back.

It is important to seek counseling before and after birth to make the transition into the household smoother. You can choose in-person or virtual sessions. Therapy sessions can be individual for only you or your teen, family (the teen, parents, siblings, and the father of the baby, for example), or group therapy sessions with other pregnant teens.

Counseling is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, your counselor will customize therapy to your family’s needs for the best possible outcome. You choose the type of sessions that work for your family’s schedule.

Finding a teen counselor

Is your teen ready to speak to someone about her pregnancy? Her emotions may be overwhelming, but teen counseling can help her during and after the pregnancy. Her counselor can also provide resources to help provide for her child.

Your teen is not alone. Teen counseling can teach her the skills to overcome this while reinforcing that God will always love her and her child. Contact our office today to schedule a confidential session.