Virtual and In-Person Counselling for Adolescents and Youth Criminally Involved

Our therapist, Brent Jarden, MSW, RSW, has years of experience working with criminally-involved youths. Brent has significant experience providing treatment to adolescents and youth who where involved in sexually offending behaviours, engaged in fire-setting behaviours, and other high-risk behaviours.

While these issues frequently require broader community intervention, he is happy to consult to determine if private therapy to address concerns is an option for adolescent and youth clients and their families.

Our therapist is proficient in offering the Unified Protocol approach, among other clinical interventions. Mostly, the therapy approach for working with clients criminally involved consists of the following core areas of intervention:

• mindful emotion awareness;
• cognitive flexibility;
• identifying and preventing patterns of emotion avoidance;
• increasing awareness and tolerance of emotion-related physical sensations; and
• gradual exposure focused on internal and situational emotion.

How Can Therapy for Adolescents and Youth Criminally Involved Help?

The interventions help clients to address mental health conditions that involve a prominent emotional component, such as mood, anxiety, personality, impulsivity, etc.

We are aware that sometimes the challenges that adolescents and youth face can also be a response to the conditions of the social environment. Many of our clients have experienced family disruptions, trauma, abuse, emotional neglect, or other overwhelming experiences at a younger age. We are here to support them in processing their experiences and hopefully moving toward their most meaningful goals.

We understand it’s essential for the therapist to develop a trusting, safe and non-judgmental relationship with adolescent and youth clients. We are committed to creating a space of collaboration and openness where our clients learn ways to navigate a world that, at times, feels challenging and overwhelming.

If you are at risk of harming yourself and need immediate assistance, please contact 1.833.456.4566 (24/7/365), text at 45645 (4:00 PM to midnight) or click here for more information.