FAQs for Teens

Helix is right for you if you are seeking relief.

Sometimes life can pull you down and it can feel like you’re stuck, no matter how hard you try to pull yourself up. Suffering looks different for everybody — it can show up as feelings of isolation, destructive behaviors, panicky feelings in your body, self harm, thoughts that you can’t stop, or trouble in your relationships with friends, family, or partners. Suffering can feel quiet or it can feel loud. It can make you feel invisible or like everyone is looking at you.

Whatever your suffering is like, if you want to find relief from it and are willing to do the work, then Helix Center will be right for you.

The people you’ll find at Helix are experiencing a range of struggles. What they are going through may seem totally different from you, relatable in just a few ways, or feel nearly the same. Every teen at Helix Center is united in wanting relief from their emotions that feel too heavy, hard to release, or destructive.

Everyone participating at Helix understands how hard it is to feel the way they feel and has decided to take care of themselves in a different way. Many of the teens here are people who found that individual once-a-week therapy wasn’t working well enough, and others have never tried therapy before. Some are eager to jump into discussing their hardships, while others are more reserved. Wherever you are in your own therapy journey, you’ll be in a like-minded community of peers who want to get past their hurdles and find relief.

You shouldn’t expect to leave Helix remade into a problem-free human who won’t ever feel pain again — we’re not about erasing your struggles or emotions. Rather, your time here will give you a supportive place to get away from those struggles long enough to strengthen your coping skills so you can get a handle on them.

We’re here to help you master techniques for relating in positive ways so you can keep moving forward and taking care of yourself when you encounter setbacks. After completing our program, our hope is that you’ll be able to minimize how intensely you feel in difficult situations so your emotions don’t get the best of you in the future. We will leave you with a better understanding of how you relate to yourself, to others, and to the world.

Initially, your time at Helix might feel awkward, uncomfortable, and possibly even pointless. These are normal feelings. Typically, when you give therapeutic intervention a chance, these feelings fade. They’re replaced by feelings of strength, belonging, and relief — maybe even curiosity.

That said, we strongly encourage you to speak to us if it feels like the program isn’t benefiting you. One of our core values is individualized care — we believe that everyone needs a unique combination of support to achieve their goals. We’ll meet with you weekly to assess how you’re progressing toward your goals and we welcome you to be honest with us during these meetings. If you’re not getting what you need from us, we’ll help you find your next steps. This is about you.

We work hard to ensure that Helix Center is a safe space for people who want to grow, and we expect that everyone here is committed to building and maintaining that safe space.

To keep your experience at Helix engaging and fun (yes, we will also have fun!), we make time for movement, connection, music, creative arts, and personal reflection.

We combine many different therapeutic approaches because life is made up of many different kinds of difficult moments. We want you to have a full range of techniques for handling them all. Some of the things you learn will resonate and feel productive and engaging, others just won’t click with you — at least not right away.

Most of the time, your parents’ behavior comes from a well intentioned place, but that doesn’t mean it’s what’s most helpful for you. Helix Center wants to untangle the good intentions from the unhelpful behavior so that you and your parents can engage in healthy, productive, and compassionate ways.

We’ll focus on helping both you and your parents gain insight and clarity into where the other is coming from. We will also spend time with your parents teaching them ways to support you, both while you’re here and afterwards.

It is possible that you’ll have to miss some after-school activities. Our sessions are at set times that cannot be changed. Sessions always start after the regular school day with the intention of you not missing classes. However, you may need to miss some activities if they fall on either of the two days a week that sessions are held.

Think of it as a trade-off: By missing 14 weeks of after-school activities now, you can rejoin them afterwards as a more focused, clear-headed you.

The program is 14-weeks long and you’ll be at Helix Center about three times every week. Two of your visits will be for group therapy sessions and one (or more when helpful) will be for individual therapy.

Food and drink will be ready for you when you get here. Since you’ll be coming to Helix Center after school, it’s important to have a bit of downtime to breathe, grab a snack, and enjoy a beverage. We’ll ease into the day’s work after that.

No need to worry! We do not allow students from the same school to attend Helix at the same time.

Group sessions are a main component of Helix Center’s approach and, yes, they are mandatory. That said, we aren’t here to force you to do anything you aren’t ready for or comfortable with.

The idea of group therapy isn’t enticing to everybody right off the bat, but we encourage you to give it a shot. There are piles of data-driven evidence that prove group sessions help people make progress.

And while you do have to go to group, you won’t have to add your voice until you are ready. While many people enjoy group as a space to share and be heard, ask questions, or receive feedback, others benefit more from using group as an opportunity to just listen and observe in the company of others.