On the surface, you seem to have it all together. Inside you feel stressed, overwhelmed, trapped, lost, and lonely. After achieving some of your goals you’re left wondering to yourself: now what? Maybe you’ve successfully made it through school and you into your early career, but it’s not what you were hoping for. You feel the pressure to be perfect and fix everything, but you don’t know how to stop doing that.

You’re excited to finally be “adulting” but the responsibilities like doing laundry, having to cook meals every day, keep your place clean, paying the bills, and the pressure to stay on top of everything doesn’t seem like a lot of fun. You find yourself wondering if this is as good as it gets, and then trying to figure out how you’re going to keep doing this for the next 50 years of your life. It feels like a huge let down - there has to be more to life than this, right?

Maybe you want a relationship but the idea of dating is petrifying, or perhaps you’re in a relationship but it’s not quite what you expected. Perhaps you worry if you’ll ever find “the right one” and if you can truly be happy in a relationship. You want to take a break from dating but you worry you’ll miss out on your future partner.

You’d like to have the confidence to say no and walk away from things people ask you to do for them, but you don’t want to upset anyone and cause any problems. You want to stop having to please people and start to take care of yourself but you don’t know how.

Something’s missing, but you’re not sure what it is. You’re not sure who to talk to other than your parents or friends that could help you figure things out.

You're Not Alone in Feeling This Way

Here's something we want you to know right away: The anxiety about your career path? That feeling that creeps in when comparing yourself to others on social media? The confusion about who you are outside of what your parents, professors, or partners expect? What you're experiencing is completely normal. These aren't signs that something is wrong with you—they're signs that you're navigating one of the most challenging developmental periods of your life.

But here's what makes it harder: when you look around at your peers, it often seems like everyone else has it together. But here's the reality: they're struggling too. Most young adults are dealing with the same anxiety, confusion, and self-doubt you are—they're just not posting about it. The friend who seems to have the perfect relationship is probably questioning it sometimes. The person who looks like they're crushing their career is likely wondering if they made the right choice. Behind the curated social media feeds and the "I'm fine" responses, your peers are navigating the same messy feelings, the same pressure to be perfect, the same fear of making the wrong choice. You're not falling behind. You're not the only one who hasn't figured it out. You're just one of the few being honest about it.

If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like you're falling behind some invisible timeline, you're in good company. And more importantly, you don't have to figure it all out alone.

Interested in therapy for Young Adult? Send us a message!

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How Therapy Can Actually Help

Therapy for young adults isn't about someone older telling you what to do or pushing you toward decisions you're not ready to make. It's about helping you explore who you are, what you actually want (not what you think you should want), and developing skills to navigate this stage of life with more confidence and less self-judgment.

We use approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) because they're practical and effective for the stuff young adults deal with. CBT helps you identify the thought patterns that keep you stuck—like the belief that you need to be perfect or that one wrong decision will ruin your life—and gives you tools to challenge and change them. DBT teaches skills for managing intense emotions, improving relationships, and tolerating the uncertainty that comes with this phase of life. Think of it as building a toolbox you can actually use when anxiety spikes before a job interview, when family conflict feels unbearable, or when you're not sure how to set boundaries in a relationship.

Therapy can also help you sort through the big identity questions: Who am I becoming? What do I value? How do I build a life that feels authentic to me? These aren't questions you need to answer overnight, and therapy provides a judgment-free space to explore them at your own pace.

How Our Practice Can Help

What makes our practice different is simple: our therapists get it because they've been there. Our team understands the unique pressures of being a young adult right now—the student loan anxiety, the pressure of social media, the feeling of being between two worlds (not quite a teenager, not quite "settled" as an adult). Our therapists are easy to talk to, won't judge you, and create a vibe where you can actually be yourself.

In therapy that is customized for young adults, we want to get to know the real you—not the version that your parents or society tells you to be. We want to learn about your feelings, thoughts, the things that keep you up at night, and what you want to achieve for yourself.

One of our biggest parts of young adult therapy is to address the inner thoughts that run in your head all day long. It tells you what things you can or cannot do and the places you do and don’t belong. We want to make sure that you get out of your own way by pushing through any self-limiting beliefs you may have.

Something else that we will discuss in therapy is the idea of boundaries. Healthy boundaries help us have relationships that are safe, respectful, and fulfilling. Good boundaries allow us to express ourselves to others and prevents toxic relationship from developing. It takes time to learn what boundaries are and how to set healthy boundaries, and learning more about this in therapy can help strengthen and improve your relationships with others.

A young adult blonde woman smiling in a blue graduation cap, representing a young adult woman who has come to our Cincinnati office for young adult counseling. Our therapists provide counseling for young adults for people living in Cincinnati. — How Medication Can Help
We also recognize that sometimes therapy alone isn't enough. For some young adults, medication can be an important part of treatment, especially when dealing with anxiety or depression that feels unmanageable. Our practice includes a psychiatric provider who understands the unique pressures young adults face and can assess whether medication might support your mental health alongside therapy. For many young adults, the right medication can make a real difference—it can quiet the constant worry enough that you can actually focus in therapy sessions, or lift the fog of depression so you have the energy to work on building healthier patterns.
You don't have to have everything figured out to get help. In fact, not having it figured out is exactly why therapy and medication can be so helpful. Whether you're dealing with quarter-life anxiety, relationship struggles, family conflict, or just feeling lost about your direction, we're here to help you navigate this phase with more clarity, less pressure, and a lot more self-compassion.

You may be thinking about seeking counseling for young adults in Cincinnati, but still have some questions or concerns…

I know things are difficult for me right now, but do I really need therapy?

While some people still believe that you need to have a mental health illness to seek therapy, in reality, most people go to therapy to seek a better life. Counseling for young adults gives you the chance to deepen your relationships, better understand your thoughts and feelings, learn to effectively cope with stress, and set better boundaries with people. Essentially, through therapy, you can identify what it is that you truly want and need, explore strategies to help you achieve your goals and begin making impactful changes in your life.

How do I know therapy will help?

Therapy has been shown to be incredibly helpful to young adults as they transition to being an adult. One of the “secrets” behind why therapy is effective is that therapy allows us to share our thoughts and struggles with another human who is neutral. Just this alone is often helpful, as one of the biggest stressors is having to figure everything out by ourself. In addition, having another person know what you are struggling with allows them to share their own unique perspective on your situation, which can often help you change the way you think about things and thereby help you feel better.

All of our therapists also offer a free 15 minute phone consultation so that you learn more about us and how we can help. This will allow you to make an informed decision on whether or not to seek therapy.

A happy young adult woman in a denim jacket standing in a field of tall grass, showing how a young adult woman can benefit from young adult therapy. Our therapists provide counseling for young adults living in Cincinnati.

I’ve heard counseling for young adults can be expensive.

When we consider how much counseling for young adults can help us move forward in life and help us change the way we are feeling, we can start to realize how the benefits of therapy can be invaluable. Put simply, there’s no dollar amount on living life stress free and feeling confident. It’s also important to recognize that the struggles you have now may very well continue as you get older. Investing in your own well-being and addressing your challenges now can provide relief and help you learn coping skills that you can use for the rest of your life. Lastly, we do take some insurance plans and can also help you get reimbursement for therapy payments from your insurance. Please reach out to us for more information.

How is speaking with a therapist different from getting help from family and friends?

Having support from friends and family is essential, however, it’s often hard to get non-biased and expert support from loved ones. The therapeutic relationship is different and unique for several reasons. First, a professional therapist has years of experience helping individuals just like you, and so when you talk about what is bothering you your therapist has expert knowledge about how to help you. Second, in a therapist’s office the focus is solely on you. When you speak about problems with loved ones there is a back-and-forth quality, meaning, you each discuss each other’s issues. You may censor yourself so as not to be judged, hurt your friend’s feelings, etc. Finally, therapy is confidential. You can feel free to speak your mind without wondering who else will hear about your personal concerns.

How often do I see you?

We usually start out seeing people once a week, assuming that works for you. As our work progresses, we will discover if we can move to a less frequent schedule, for example, every other week. Again, everyone’s situation is different, and you and your therapist will come up with an individualized plan when you meet for your initial session.

How Do I Get Started?

Simply visit our Contact Us page to set up an initial, free 15-minute consultation phone call. Following your consultation, we will schedule a time to meet for your first appointment.