Therapy for Teens

Teen Therapist in West Los Angeles

A good teen therapist in West Los Angeles has to earn something adults rarely think about: the teenager's own buy-in. Therapy that feels like another adult lecture doesn't work; therapy that feels like a place where they're actually heard does.

Life Threads Therapy® works with teens navigating anxiety, school pressure, social dynamics, identity, and family change, in person in West LA and virtually across California.

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What Teens Bring In

Adolescence concentrates a decade of change into a few years. The teens we see are usually navigating some mix of:

  • Anxiety, stress, or frequent worry that spills into sleep and school
  • Academic pressure and the fear of falling behind everyone else
  • Social dynamics: friendship ruptures, exclusion, social anxiety
  • Identity questions and the gap between who they are and who they are expected to be
  • Family transitions such as divorce, moves, or a changed household
  • Emotional regulation: feelings that arrive faster than the words for them
Father hugging his teenage daughter outdoors, teen therapy in West Los Angeles

How We Work With Teens

Our therapists meet teens where they actually are: no lecture, no script, and no watered-down version of adult therapy. Lyndsay Mclaren, LPCC holds a DBT certificate for adolescents and families, which brings concrete, real-time emotional regulation skills into the work. Bree Anthony, MA, LMFT works with teens on anxiety, low self-esteem, and the perfectionism that high-pressure schools quietly reward.

Where trauma is part of the picture, both therapists are EMDR trained, and treatment moves at the pace the teen's readiness sets, never faster.

Parents Are Part of the Plan

Therapy for a teenager works best as a collaboration. We involve caregivers in shaping a plan that fits your family's values, and we give parents practical guidance and tools to support what's happening in session, without turning therapy into surveillance. The teen gets a space that is genuinely theirs; you get a partner in what you're navigating too.

Our kids and teens therapy page covers the younger end of this work, including how we adapt for children.

Logistics That Work Around School

The office is at 2001 S Barrington Ave, Suite 215 in West Los Angeles, reachable from Brentwood, Westwood, Santa Monica, Palms, and Mar Vista without crossing the whole city after the school bell. Weekday afternoon and evening appointments are available, and parking is attached to the building.

Teens who prefer it, or families juggling practice schedules, can meet virtually from anywhere in California. Questions first? Send them through our contact page.

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Questions Parents Ask

The practical answers before a first session.

Yes. Teens meet at our West LA office at 2001 S Barrington Ave, Suite 215, and virtual sessions are available throughout California when in-person doesn't fit.
The first session is deliberately low-stakes: the therapist gets to know your teen, what school and home actually feel like right now, and what they'd want to be different. Parents are typically part of the beginning or end of that first meeting, so everyone leaves with the same picture of the plan.
We keep the content of sessions private, because the work depends on your teen trusting the room, while keeping you in the loop on direction and progress. Safety is the firm exception, and we walk through those ground rules with both of you before the work starts.
Start with the free 20-minute consultation yourself. We'll talk through what's going on and how to make a first session feel less like a verdict and more like a conversation. Fit matters enormously with teenagers, which is exactly what the consultation is for.
We're an out-of-network practice; our private pay page covers the flat fee and how reimbursement works for teen sessions.

Build the Bridge Back

A free 20-minute consultation is an easy first step, for you or for your teen. No commitment, just a conversation.

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If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or go to your nearest emergency room. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice or a therapeutic relationship.