> It feels like we should be able to just sit the teens down and tell them how to be happier. But that doesn’t seem to work, and sometimes it even backfires. S

> It feels like we should be able to just sit the teens down and tell them how to be happier. But that doesn’t seem to work, and sometimes it even backfires. Sorry but I feel this article is written by a person with many misconceptions about psychotherapy. > Immediately after the intervention, the therapy group had worse relationships with their parents and increases in depression and anxiety. Most of these negative effects dissipated after a few months, but six months later, the therapy group was still reporting poorer relationships with their parents. This doesn't surprise me at all, as a) it is well known that conflicts with your environment can arise when your behavior and your values change (after all people are used to how things/you are) and b) probably lots of problems come from their parenthood in the first place - if you learn that certain things aren't how they are supposed to be and you can't change any of that because you still have to deal with your parents (who might exert some (perceived) dysfunctional force over you), of course that makes things worse. Last but not least, it's a flowery phrase but still holds true when talking about therapy I think: it gets worse before it gets better. Effective psychotherapy makes you question your believes about life and yourself, of course that doesn't feel great when the earth is shaking. But that's what therapists are there for: to guide and support you through the process. It can be difficult for people outside (e.g. parents) to grasp what's going on there, especially if they don't have similar experiences.