The teen years are an important time for learning about mental health and developing healthy coping skills. You can help your teen engage with their thoughts, feelings, behaviors and relationship skills in ways that support their overall mental well-being. Practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques will help them develop these skills so they’ll know what to do when they feel overwhelmed. Other simple activities can help them explore their thoughts and feelings and help them learn how to be the person they want to be.

Stress management is critical for every young person’s mental health. Stress can manifest in different ways. Some may show their stress more than others, “acting out” or disengaging with important people and life activities. Some may internalize their stress, resulting in anxiety, depression and other mental health concerns. Teens may need help recognizing when they’re feeling stressed and finding coping strategies that work for them.

In this blog post, we’ll share six activities you can do with your teen to help them manage stress and maintain mental well-being.

6 effective therapy activities for teens

Mental health isn’t something that happens on its own — we need to take mindful action to cultivate it in our lives. This takes a lot of practice. Doing simple activities with your teen can open up good conversations about maintaining mental well-being. You can help them develop self-care practices and coping skills that they’ll use for a lifetime.

[Quote]You don’t have to know all the answers yourself. There may be some things you can research and learn about together.

While these activities are helpful in their own way, they’re not a substitute for mental health treatment. Teens who are showing symptoms of mental health conditions may need help from a licensed clinician. 

Try the following therapy-based activities with your teen at home:

• Color breathing — This activity is a great practice for mindfulness and relaxation. Think of one thing you want to feel more, like calm or joy, and one thing you want to feel less, like depression or sadness. Assign a color to both of your choices. Bright blue might represent calm, and black might represent depression. Close your eyes and imagine a bright blue cloud of joy around you as you breathe in the good feeling, filling up your lungs and body. As you exhale, picture yourself breathing out depression in a cloud of black smoke. Keep going for several minutes.
• Progressive muscle relaxation — This is another mindfulness exercise teens can do anywhere. Start by closing your eyes and breathing deeply, tuning into the feelings in your body and letting go of any tension. Then focus on your toes and tense them up for a couple of seconds, pulsing them a few times. Move up your feet and legs, squeezing one muscle group at a time. Keep going all the way through your torso, arms and head. 
• Vision board — This is an art therapy technique that can help teens think about the future in a positive way. You’ll need a stack of magazines, some cardstock, scissors, and glue sticks or decoupage materials. Ask them to create a vision board of what they want their future to look like. This activity is great because it allows for artistic expression without requiring a lot of skill.
• Affirmation bracelets — This is another art therapy activity that anyone can do. You’ll need beads with letters on them, plain pony beads and some elastic string cut to about 6 inches. Have your teen brainstorm some one-word affirmations or short mantras to put on their bracelet. “Brave,” “kind” and “enough” are some good examples. The bracelet will serve as a reminder of their best qualities.
• Boundary-setting activity — Have your teen draw a circle on a piece of paper. On the inside of the circle, have them write down things their boundaries can protect. These might include things like their time, their energy and their body. Then have them write things on the outside of the circle that make them uncomfortable or cross their boundaries in some way. These might include saying hurtful things or unwanted touching. There will be things that might be inside the circle some of the time and outside the circle at other times. Talk through some of these situations and when it might be OK to break certain boundaries with certain people.
• Journaling — Find some journaling prompts to work on. You might do them separately and then talk about your experiences. Consider writing prompts that focus on the past, present and future. What are some of your proudest moments? If you could ask your future self something, what would you ask? You can also write letters to yourself in the past or the future.

Your next steps: Supporting your teen’s mental well-being

Before diving into one of these activities, you might want to have a conversation to find out your teen’s thoughts on their mental health. Try to get an understanding of what they already know and what they need help with. You don’t have to know all the answers yourself. There may be some things you can research and learn about together.

If your teen has been showing signs of stress or mental health symptoms, they may need some extra support. Mood swings, irritability, social withdrawal and unexplained physical symptoms can all be signs of stress. Let them know you’re there to listen without judging them. If you think they might need treatment, find out how they feel about it. Give them some time to ask questions and address their concerns. Make sure they know they’ll be involved in the decision-making process.

If a teen ever feels they might harm themselves or others, call 988 or 911 in an emergency,”

Is there a teen in your life who may need some help with their mental health? At Lightfully Teen, we provide compassionate, personalized mental health care for teens. Our Precision Care Model (PCM) helps ensure each teen gets treatment that supports their whole life.

Please contact us with any questions you have. 

The first step toward treatment at Lightfully is an in-depth assessment. If you and your teen are ready, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team to set up a call. We’ll take the next steps together.