Online counseling services available throughout VA, DC, & CO
Teen Therapy & Adolescent Counseling
in Fairfax, VA
A Place for Teens to Be Taken Seriously, and for Parents to Stay Involved
I’m Jacob Clark, MS, LPC, a teen therapist in Fairfax, Virginia. I work with adolescents and their parents around anxiety, depression, school stress, relationships, identity, emotional regulation, and patterns that no longer seem to help. Therapy begins with taking your teen seriously, not assuming I already know what is wrong or telling them who they should be.
EMDR Certified · Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certified · Licensed Professional Counselor
The Teen Ego
“Teenagers are sometimes morbidly, oftentimes curiously, preoccupied with what they appear to be in the eyes of others as compared to what they feel they are.” — Eric Erickson
Does Your Teen Seem Angry, Confused, or Like No One Understands Them?
Parents often reach out because their teen does not seem like themselves anymore. Maybe school has become harder, friendships feel thin, the arguments are constant, or your teenager has stopped talking. Or, maybe they are trying to manage too much alone. Many parents come to me because they want to give their children resources that they themselves did not have as kids. That makes sense. The goal is not to make your teen easier to manage. It is to help us understand what is getting in their way and what kind of support could actually be useful.
Some Ways Your Teen May Be Struggling:
School stress or disengagement
Trouble attending regularly, falling behind, losing motivation, or conflict around school.
Social disconnection
Pulling away from friends or family, feeling misunderstood, or difficulty finding meaningful peer relationships.
Emotional overwhelm
Anger, sadness, anxiety, irritability, numbness, or reactions that seem larger than the moment.
Pressure, coping, and risky behaviors
Excessive gaming, vaping, cannabis use, social-media pressure, or other ways of trying to regulate difficult feelings.
Conflict at home
Defiance, shutdown, secrecy, or arguments that leave both teens and parents feeling stuck.
Adolescence Has Always Been About Identity. The World Is Just Louder Now.
Teenagers are exposed to dramatically different cultural and ideological forces through mediums such as Instagram and TikTok. They are trying to figure out who they are not only in relation to their family home, but also in relation to an ever more globalized world.
This does not mean that social media is the explanation for every problem a teenager faces. But it is part of the world they are trying to navigate, and it can make it harder to know what is real, what matters, and what is actually their own.
Research on social media and adolescent mental health does not point to one simple explanation. A review found that the reported associations between social-media use and mental health were often weak or inconsistent (Valkenburg et al., 2022).
The organized, idealized world presented through Instagram and TikTok can create values and standards that are difficult for most adults, much less adolescents going through puberty, to live up to. In my clinical work, I often see teenagers reaching for ways of coping that make sense in the moment but can interfere with the identity, relationships, and life they are trying to build.
You Do Not Have to Trust Me Right Away
Most adults in your life will tell you what to do or how to think. It might surprise you that I do not come into therapy with a preconceived idea of what will improve your life. If there were a quick fix to feeling better, I am willing to bet you would have already tried it.
Maybe you know all the right things to do and still cannot bring yourself to actually do them. Maybe you have tried a lot of things already. Some may have helped, and some may not have. I strongly believe that the better you understand yourself and the world around you, the better your decisions will be.
Why should you trust me? The short answer is that you should not, not until I have had a chance to earn your trust. My status as an adult does not automatically mean you should listen to me. Relationships develop when we demonstrate that we can collaborate effectively. My hope is that what you read here, and what you experience in a first session, makes enough sense that you are willing to try and see whether trust can develop.
TF-CBT for Teens Affected by Trauma
Sometimes, what a teenager is struggling with has roots in something difficult that happened to them. Trauma can show up in sleep, school, relationships, anger, anxiety, shutting down, or in the ways an adolescent tries to get through the day.
I am trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or TF-CBT. TF-CBT is a structured approach for young people whose current struggles are connected to trauma. It includes individual work with the teen and parallel work with a parent or primary caregiver, with joint sessions used when appropriate. The work can include learning about trauma responses, developing coping skills, gradually addressing difficult experiences, and strengthening safety and communication (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2026).
This work does not happen by asking a teenager to simply get over what happened. It involves taking their experience seriously, moving at a pace that makes sense, and involving parents or caregivers in ways that can help the family better understand what their child needs. We will talk together about whether TF-CBT fits your teen and what the work could look like.
A “Meat & Potatoes” Approach
to Teen Therapy
With teenagers, I take a “meat & potatoes” approach. I use a positive, healthy adult relationship to help instill a stronger sense of self-efficacy. I have found that when a teenager begins to feel more effective in the world, they are often better able to listen to themselves, make decisions, and deal with the things that have been getting in their way.
We will look together at healthy ways for your teen to move their body, develop relationship patterns, and pay attention to sleep and performance in school. These things may seem basic, but they are often part of what has become difficult when a teenager feels overwhelmed, isolated, or stuck.
I am not here to tell your teenager what to think or hand them a quick fix. Teenagers are often smarter and better informed than adults give them credit for. If there were an easy answer, they may have already found it. My job is to help them better understand themselves and the world around them, so they can begin making choices with more awareness.
Is your teen ready to start therapy?
If they need a place where they can feel understood, challenged, and taken seriously, you’re in the right place. Schedule a free consultation to see whether I might be a good fit.