Adolescent Mental Health with Dr. Rebecca Lierly

Jul 22

Listen to Full Episode Here

About My Guest

Dr. Rebecca Lierly is a clinical psychologist who has been working in the field of adolescent psychology for fifteen years and still uses Urban Dictionary on a weekly basis. Specializing in acute crisis, group therapy, Autism Spectrum disorder, and trauma populations, she loves coming alongside families and find creative strategies to improve communication and coping.

In This Episode

Dr. Lierly breaks down the various levels of care that come with treatment options for adolescents--from weekly talk therapy to partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) to inpatient hospitalization. She helps parents understand why different levels may be recommended. Dr. Lierly highlights how parents can support adolescents through various challenges they might be facing, such as substance dependence, severe social anxiety, avoidant behaviors, suicidality, and more.

Highlighting the key struggles and goals of adolescence, Dr. Lierly shares how it is a time where we figure out who we are, what we like, and how we want to move through the world, all while separating from our families of origin. A teen's social world is highly complex and social feedback is quite powerful during this time of life, in ways that are both helpful and hurtful. Building adaptability, experimenting safely, finding community, and developing coping strategies are all key pieces of developing through adolescence.

Finally, Dr. Lierly shares examples of failure and how failures are prime learning opportunities for us and for teens, who are watching how adults respond to stress. She discusses how working on a team can change the experience of failure and green flags to look for when evaluating potential employers and colleagues. Dr. Lierly effectively models what she teaches--that failure is an opportunity to check in with yourself, identify what you need, ask for help where you need it, learn from what is not working, and then experiment with new ways of doing something. With kindness and humility, Dr. Lierly is a helpful example of what therapy and parenting can do for adolescents who are struggling.