Helping Teens and Families Live Happier Lives






Helping Teens and Families Live Happier Lives






Helping Teens and Families Live Happier Lives






Welcome to Teen Therapy Center. My name is Kent Toussaint. I'm the founder and clinical director.
We are a group private practice here in Woodland Hills, California. We are filled with therapists
who are fun loving, professional, warm, and we specialize in helping kids, teens and families
live happier lives. And we do that because we speak teenager and we speak parent. And we are often
the interpreter in between the two to help bridge those gaps to make sure that teenagers are
finally understanding parents, parents are understanding teenagers. And we're helping
develop greater communication, better empathy, healthier boundaries within the family.
But when we understand a kid or a teenager, we also have to understand what it's like to be a little
kid and a young adult and a parent. Because when you're a teenager, you're in this amazing transition
period where you got 1 foot as a kid and 1 foot in the adult world. And it's confusing and it's frustrating.
You know, I know we've been teenagers. Your teenagers
are going through it for their very first time. And so my job, or our job as therapists is to help
them go through that. We do that through individual therapy, family therapy, and sometimes
group therapy, depending on what your kids needs are. There are a variety of issues we deal with,
obviously. Self esteem issues, school motivation, anxiety, depression, attention issues,
autism spectrum, anyone who identifies multi, exceptional or two E. We work with those people
every day. Kids who are their families are going through divorces or even sometimes when they're
blending families together. Those can be very nuanced, complicated issues. And sometimes
having a therapist to help bridge the gap, help increase and develop better communication
is really helpful. Thanks for stopping by. Please check out our website. Give us a call. We're
happy to provide a complimentary phone consultation so you can ask all your questions. We can
provide you the answers so you feel comfortable choosing us. And
if somehow what you're asking for is outside of our scope, we're happy to provide you other resources
so you can find the referrals you need to get the help you need for you and your family. Thanks
again. My name is Kenta Tussant. This is Teen Therapy Center, and we look forward to talking
to you soon.
Welcome to Teen Therapy Center!
The mission of Teen Therapy Center is to help children, teens and families live happier lives. We’re good at it too! We speak both “teen” and “parent” which helps us break down barriers to communication. Our staff is a group of fun loving professionals from a variety of backgrounds. You can meet them here.
Teen Therapy Center offers individual, family and group therapy. We’re happy to offer a free consultation to see if we’re the right fit for you. If not, we can still help guide you to the support you need. Get in touch at (818) 697-8555, we’d love to hear from you!
Online and Phone Sessions Available!
Teen Therapy Center is offering virtual therapy through platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, or via phone call. Whether you attend session in-person or from home, our therapists remain committed to providing a high level of care, compassion, and support for you and your family.
Online and Phone Sessions Available!
Teen Therapy Center is offering virtual therapy through platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, or via phone call. Whether you attend session in-person or from home, our therapists remain committed to providing a high level of care, compassion, and support for you and your family.
Our Latest "Tips on Teens" Video
Tips on Teens is our weekly segment on Facebook Live where Kent Toussaint answers your parenting questions. We cover a wide range of topics affecting teens and their families. We’ve archived all the videos right here on the site.
Click below to search our library of Tips on Teens videos for answers to your questions. As always, we love to hear your questions. Send them to us here.
Your eighth -grade son is in his first toxic dating relationship. Hooray! Let's talk about
that today on Tips on Teens. My name is Kent Toussaint. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist,
and I specialize in helping kids, teens, and families to live happier lives. I lead two organizations,
Teen Therapy Center and the non -profit 501c3 organization, Child and teen counseling, both
here in Woodland Hills, California. Every Wednesday at noon, I jump onto Facebook Live to answer
your parenting questions. Let's answer today's. My eighth -grade son has been dating a troubled
girl for eight months. Within weeks of dating, she began making comments intended to isolate
him from family and friends. As the months have gone on, the depth of her manipulation has become
clear to us. But in his eyes, she can do no wrong. He seems to know that she suffers from depression,
but I'm not sure he really understands what that means. Whenever we try to discuss their relationship,
he gets angry and blows
up at us. We're concerned he's been sucked into her dysfunction and unable to make healthy decisions.
We're not sure what to do next. Any help would be welcome. Thank you for your question. This is
a tough one, because I don't have easy answers for you. First of all, I want to help you understand
and why this is so important to him. I assume he's 13 or 14, somewhere around there. This is probably
his first deep love he's ever felt, and it's stronger than anything he's ever experienced in
his life. He feels important, he feels valued, he feels powerful, because in his mind, he has
the ability to save her. He can impact her happiness or sadness. I'm not saying any of this is
healthy, but I'm kind of giving you a window into the mindset of a 13, 14 year old boy who's dating
someone in this kind of situation. All I know about this girl is through what you're saying.
So let's assume, let's take everything on the level of what has been said in the question. You're
not going to convince him that
she's unhealthy for him. You're just not. You have to let him come to this on his own. And keep
in mind, and rest assured, this relationship will end. There are not many people who fall in
love in grade and are together for 60 years. And if they are, they're usually pretty healthy
relationships. The unhealthy ones, this will not last. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. It's
probably gonna be painful, but this will end. So we're playing for the long game of when this
relationship ends. And the more he has felt supported, the less he's felt judged, the easier
it will be when this relationship falls apart that he can come back to you because he knows that
you're safe and you're going to love him and embrace him. If he perceives you are being critical,
judgmental, anything you say against this girl, no matter how right you are, he's going to interpret
that as, I need to protect her, I need to be the knight on the horse with the sword, and you're the
dragon, and I need to fight you to protect
the honor of, you know, the maiden fair. And I think it's really important to just keep map boundaries.
You know, if he needs to be in read by 10 o 'clock and not have the phone in his room, that boundary
still needs to happen. Even if he says, if I don't talk to her, she's going to commit suicide,
for example, because I've had clients who've had these experiences and the dating partner
can say that sometimes, right? That doesn't mean he should have his phone. That means he still
needs to do his homework. That means he still needs to do his extracurriculars. Encourage him
to see his friends. You can't force him to, but keep him on some kind of track. It's not about the
girlfriends, about the things he has to do in his life. He can't throw everything else away.
Now, he's gonna fight this. And if it's getting really, really bad, you may wanna consult with
an adolescent therapist who can help him process through this. There's nothing easy about
this. And those of you who say, oh, this is why
teenagers shouldn't date. If you stop them dating, they're gonna date behind your back. Dating
happens, and it's been happening since, you know, before history. Teenagers will date. Not
every teenager. And actually dating has gone down with the advent of social media and video
games But teenagers still gonna date so keep being supportive keep offering him love and acceptance
Even when he pushes you away Still be there for him If you think he's in way over his head and other
things are crumbling get him into therapy You know, I think that would could be helpful. But
also it's it's planning for the end of the relationship I don't know if it's next week or next
year, but this relationship will end, prepare for that, make sure that you have a safe path for
him back to you. If you feel that he is falling under footsteps and being very toxic to himself,
if you feel he's getting suicidal or whatever, again, consult with a therapist and get help.
That's our question for today. Again, there's nothing
easy about this and it's going to be a marathon, it's going to be arduous, but it's keeping your
eye on down the line. Again, my name is Kent Toussaint. This is Tips on Teens. If you like these
questions, you can always join our Facebook group called Tips on Teens, so it goes into your
feed. If you have a question you'd like to ask me, our email is tipsonteens at teentherapycenter
.com. Again, my name is Kent Toussaint. This is Teen Therapy Center and the nonprofit Child
and team counseling. And we will see you guys next Wednesday on Facebook Live. Bye -bye.
How does YOUR kid fit in?
























"Ask Kent" at CBS Morning News
Our Clinical Director, Kent Toussaint, appeared on his ongoing segment “Ask Kent” at CBS Morning News. Kent answered questions from parents about REAL parenting issues.
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