The teenage years are probably the most defining and important years of a person’s life. Habits and behavioral patterns made during these years influence the direction a person’s life will take for the next several decades.
As adolescents are still growing, both physically, mentally, and emotionally, it is imperative that they be provided with the correct information that can help them grow into their best selves. Adopting a healthy lifestyle early on in life and maintaining it can help make your teen feel more fulfilled and happy, its benefits will spread into other aspects of their life.
Innercept excels at educating teens and young adults on their health and well-being. We have a dedicated and competent staff that will ensure that your loved one grows into a well-rounded adult. But this process begins at home.
Read on to find out how you can help support your teen through puberty, and the services Innercept provides for your child’s physical and mental growth.
Supporting Adolescents
Puberty: a word that makes children giggle, teenagers blush, and parents sigh with frustration. This transition to adulthood from childhood is heralded and accompanied by many emotional, physical, and physiological changes. These changes can last anywhere from a few days to 5 years.
Adolescents require a proper support system as they traverse this period of their lives. Though they may not show it, your teenager needs your guidance and expertise to help them blossom and transform into a healthy adult.
Supporting teen girls through adolescence.
Boys (or girls), giggling, “Sweet 16s”, and prom are the hallmark defining moments of a teen girl’s life. But it’s not all candy and sprinkles and floating on sunshine.
Preadolescence sees the onset of menstrual cycles in adolescent girls. This can be very scary, especially if she isn’t adequately mentally prepared for it. The first period should be when a teen girl starts regular visits with a personal gynecologist. Our trained health providers are available to make this process as smooth and private as possible for your teenager.
Supporting teen boys through adolescence.
The issues faced by teen boys are different. Increased height, strength, energy, and a thirst to prove one’s masculinity burgeon during this time period. The exploding testosterone production can lead to increased aggression and emotional outbursts.
This increased energy can be put into sports, weight lifting, outdoor activities, and other physically demanding tasks. Innercept has the resources and structured physical programs to help your teen burn off that excessive energy in a healthy way.
Supporting LGBTQ+ teens and their families.
LGBTQ+ teens going through puberty can face even more difficulties and anxiety as they discover who they are on the inside. Innercept takes that extra step within our anxiety treatment for teens by ensuring our patients who are LGBTQ+ feel seen, heard, and accepted.
There is no judgment here. Our caregivers understand the many needs of LGBTQ+ teens and are ready to support them with compassion, guidance, and respect.
Physical and emotional changes during puberty.
The adolescent years are often referred to as “awkward teenage years” for a reason. Though many of the changes an adolescent faces during puberty are physical, the hormonal tempest raging within them can lead to emotional and psychological changes as well. This can make a teen feel very vulnerable, discomfited, and uncomfortable.
Innercept’s empathetic and experienced therapists and mental health experts work at creating a safe environment where your child is embraced by a supportive and encouraging community of peers.
Main Health Issues Facing Teens
Teenagers are still undergoing development, and many health issues can affect this development, both positively and negatively. Physical changes in your teen’s body also affect their mental health, emotional state, and behavior. Innercept provides a select range of adolescent mental health treatment programs formulated specifically for teens and young adults moving through puberty.
You as a parent, guardian, or loved one have access to educational information concerning teen development, puberty, or any other problems your child may be facing.
Some of the main issues that affect adolescent development are:
Mental Health
The prevalent causes of disabilities and illness among teenagers and young adults are anxiety and depression. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among teens aged 15-19 years old. Studies show that fully half of the adults suffering from mental issues today had disorders that started by the age of 14, though most cases go untreated and undetected.
Poverty, social inequality, domestic violence, school shootings, stigma, exclusion, and other factors can all harm the mental health and well-being of adolescents and significantly increase the risk of developing mental health disorders.
If you notice your teen emotionally struggling more than usual, you can reach out to our pediatrics experts for counseling and to determine if further therapy is needed. Our young adult mental health programs provide tailor-made modalities for each patient to help them overcome mental health issues as they pass through the adolescent years.
Fitness & Nutrition
Proper nutrition habits and practicing healthy fitness are essential for a growing teen, though social pressures, mood swings, and active schedules of adolescents can make this a challenging prospect.
Within our facilities, we provide very many physical activities, both indoor and outdoor, that can help your teen grow physically and tone themselves. We firmly believe in the saying, “healthy body, healthy mind”, and in this respect we offer academic and educational resources to help your teen hone their mind.
Nutrition
Teenagers are growing both physically and mentally every single second. They need a balanced diet rich in nutrients and vitamins combined with plenty of rest. This will ensure teens build strong bones, lower blood pressure, and help prevent anemia, all of which affect the physical well-being of a person throughout the rest of their life.
Teenagers are prone to internal and external cues that can affect their diet. Weight management, body image issues, vegetarian eating, and eating disorders are all factors that can affect their eating patterns. In some cases, we provide treatment for eating disorders alongside our health education for some of our teens and young adults.
These challenges can alter their growth, development, and self-esteem. Parents/guardians, teachers, and medical professionals can all work together to help teenagers manage these challenges and practice healthier eating habits.
Our well-balanced, nutritional meal plans are designed specifically to boost your teen’s growth and keep them in peak health. We cater to every dietary restriction you may have, such as vegan, kosher, or gluten-free meals, and we also provide for any allergies your teen may have, such as peanut allergies.
Obesity
In the United States, 14.4 million children and adolescents aged 2-19 suffer from obesity. Our modern society has developed to the extent that you rarely need to leave your house to do anything. Everything you desire, from lumber to livestock to a hot comfort meal can be delivered to your doorstep.
This combined with decreased instances of children playing outside and the high price that GMO-free, organic food fetches makes it very easy for children and teens to become pudgier and pudgier year after year.
Obesity increases the risk of an adolescent developing deeper physical health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, and joint problems. Obesity in teens can also lead to mental health problems, like depression, and in severe cases can make an adolescent develop eating disorders such as bulimia.
Healthy eating habits and increased physical activity can help treat and reduce obesity cases in adolescents.
Sexuality & Safe Sex
Your teen is raging with hormones, and this will lead them to start exploring their sexuality. Adolescents need to understand the dangers and risks associated with unsafe sex. No method of protection provides a guaranteed, 100% effectiveness rate in preventing unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or even HIV.
These circumstances can severely alter a teen’s well-being and health and may push them down a road rife with drugs, alcohol, and other self-harming behaviors as a means of coping. Our experts provide counseling sessions and educational talks to inform your teen on the safest practices as well as what to do in case an accident occurs.
Early pregnancy and childbirth.
Teenage birth rates in the United States reached their lowest in decades in 2022, seeing 13.5 birth for every 1,000 females versus 61.8 in 1991. The US still ranks as having one of the highest teenage birth rates among developed countries. Many factors contribute to such high adolescent birth rates, such as lack of access to contraceptives, inadequate sex education, social inequality, and others.
Alcohol and Drug Use
The curiosity in teenagers is heavy and peer pressure can be smothering. This can lead to many teens down the road of experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Cannabis (marijuana) is the psychoactive drug that sees the broadest use rates.
Neurocognitive alterations that lead to emotional, behavioral, academic, and social problems later in life can be triggered by alcohol and drug use in adolescents. Our programs include information on the dangers of smoking, drugs, and drinking alcohol. We teach your teen how to partake in legal substances responsibly.
We also provide rehab programs that can help you or your teen along the road to recovery from substance use disorders and alcoholism.
Tobacco Use
Ask anyone you know who smokes or drinks when they started and the majority will tell you it all began in their adolescent years. Nicotine is extremely addictive. Smoking laws have done a lot to reduce the number of people you see smoking tobacco-based cigarettes in public. E-cigarettes (vape pens) have grown to fill that gap and vaping is rapidly becoming popular and available to teenagers and young children.
Environmental Health
A major factor in the morality of teenagers intertwines closely with the environment, such as infectious diseases and unintentional injuries. The immature immune systems and developmental physiology make adolescents and children particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards.
The primary environmental dangers that affect teens are air pollution, heavy metals, climate change, chemicals, UV radiation, WASH (safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene), and urban health.
At Innerceot your adolescent will learn how to protect themselves against harmful environmental factors and events. Our medical facilities also offer treatment for those who have succumbed to environmental health issues.
Adolescent Rights
International legal documents exist that attest to the rights of children (people under the age of 18) to grow, survive, and develop. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in 2012, posted guidelines on how to ensure children and teenagers receive the highest standard of nurturing and health. This guideline mandates states’ obligations to prioritize the development and special health needs of adolescents and children.
Innercept takes these guidelines and raises the bar even further to create an environment where teens can grow and flourish both physically and mentally.
Support is always close at hand.
At Innercept, we pride ourselves on our rich and personalized assistance and treatment programs for teens and young adults. This is an exhilarating time in an adolescent’s life, and we are here to provide guidance and support. Contact us to schedule a visit, make an admission appointment, or discuss any concerns you may have.
Your children are your legacy. Let us help them be the healthiest version of themselves they can be.