Counseling for Young Adults - Franklin & Brentwood | 37027

Young Adult Counseling

Does this sound familiar?

Thinking about what you’ll do for the rest of your life really freaks you out.
You wonder if anxiety will ever stop.
It feels like your confidence is totally gone and you’re not sure of anything.
It’s scary to think about being a “real adult.”
You wonder if you'll ever catch up to other women your age.
Life feels too big to live the way you think you should.
Even getting out of bed and doing the bare minimum feels like too much some days.

As a young adult, this point in life can be so intimidating. You're constantly trying to decide what to do with “the rest of your life?” And, that’s a really big question. Whether you’re 18 or 28, it can feel like you’re having to plan for the entire rest of your life right now.

Now, what if you’re struggling with anxiety on top of that? Maybe, you're trying to decide if you're good enough? Some days, you're not even sure you can “do life." It’s pretty damn difficult to figure out life when you’re just trying to make it through the day, or figure out how to get out of bed in the morning.

Most of us struggle with anxiety and confidence at some point. However, here are some particular things that often bring young adults to counseling for young adults:

Feeling nervous or worrying a lot.
Having a hard time being around people.
Believing you really aren’t capable of doing what you want in life.
Trouble sleeping or sleeping way too much.
Feeling sad, being really hard on yourself, or needing perfection all the time.
You haven't felt like yourself since that one thing happened (or more than one thing, you know).

young woman with red hair and glasses plays a game on her smart phone. Represents how therapy for young adults in Brentwood, TN paired with therapists for young adults can help her feel supported.

Counseling For Young Adults Can Help You Beat Anxiety and Feel More Confident as a Young Adult

Life can be unbearable when you’re overwhelmed by all the things you’re “supposed to be doing” as a woman. But, it is possible to feel way more comfortable with things. Relationships can improve. You can feel like you’re making the decisions that are best for you. Most importantly, you can feel good about being yourself and comfortable in your own skin!

Maybe, the things that are bothering you weren't caused by adulthood. There are things that have bothered you for a long time. But, you decided you're ready to get help. There may be uncomfortable emotions caused by trauma that happened awhile ago. Or, maybe you've had anxiety and have never felt that great about yourself. It's possible that you may not even know why.

Schedule an appointment

cheerful and happy young woman smiles after therapy for young adults in brentwood, tn. Represents how therapists for young adults understand young adult challenges.

Therapy Can Help Young Women Get Unstuck

For years, I have helped young women overcome the anxiety and trauma that is causing them to feel stuck and unable to move forward. I have listened to countless young women describe the pain they've felt. More importantly, I've helped those young women find new ways to cope with their feelings, overcome depression, gain confidence, and feel empowered to change their lives.

As a therapist for young adults, it’s a great feeling to see the young adults I’ve worked with start to feel happy and self-assured. I want that for you, too.

We will work on ways to help you cope and deal with daily difficulties. You'll figure out things to help you feel good about yourself and life. We'll also look at the root causes of the problems you're dealing with and process those on a deeper level so that you can do less "coping" and live more.

How I, and My Therapy Assistant June, Do Young Adult Counseling

My (or our, because June is critical to the process here) approach to counseling for young adults is pretty laid back. We will definitely talk about serious issues in counseling sessions. But, it doesn’t have to be all serious, all the time. Especially if that’s not your style. Therapy looks different for each person, because we all have different needs, wants, and personalities. I want to make sure you feel like we’re going in the right direction. So, I’ll check in with you on that every now and then.

In my experience as a therapist for young adults in Brentwood & Franklin, TN, I’ve seen that therapy generally has long-lasting benefits if we look at where problems started ("root cause") and sort through some of those things. I know you probably want quick relief. And, we can look at things like coping and calming skills for that. We all need those skills, but I assume you’d be alright if you didn’t need to use those skills as often, right? There's a reason you struggle with self-confidence, anxiety, or depression. And you deserve to get to the bottom of it and make lasting change.

Finally, there are many benefits to getting things out.

Unfortunately, we've been given the message from society that we’re not supposed to talk about feelings or what we really think about certain things. That somehow it's not ok to admit you are anxious, self-conscious, insecure, or depressed. Or that we should just "move on" from trauma. So we end up holding feelings in. Maybe you hold them until they come out in a way that doesn’t work so well. It can be a lot of work to carry around so much stress. So, through counseling, I’ll help you learn new ways to get those feelings out so that you feel better.

One more thing, you can be yourself. You can say what you want. Counseling for young adults is really an “anything goes” situation. So, Bring on the realness!

therapist for young adults, Cody Higgs and canine assistant June. Represents how effective counseling for young adults with depression can really make a difference.

Why I Specialize in Working with Women

If I were in your shoes, I may be wondering about this - so I want to add a note about why I specialize in therapy for young women. Early adulthood can be tough. Especially for women. I love helping with those really difficult things that girls face – pressure for perfectionism, finding independence, looking or acting "right" (what is that really?), struggles with identity or anxiety about the "rest of life"…it keeps going, right?

I accidentally fell into working with young women in an agency job several years ago. I started a new position where I discovered I'd be working especially with girls and young women struggling with anxiety, confidence, and trauma. Almost from the start, I realized that I loved working with these groups – and I was really good at it! So, that's become a big focus of my practice. Part of my work is to do my share in helping to create a generation of confident, empowered women.

After having this focus for quite awhile, I feel like I’ve developed a pretty good understanding of the emotional lives of young women. I began my career thinking I'd be working with guys who were struggling with behavioral issues, but life gave me a different view of things, and I believe I’ve ended up in exactly the right place - helping the people that I do my best work with.

I'm happy to be a safe place for young women and girls to process trauma and receive therapy for anxiety and depression. A "safe place" means that there is no judgment and that you're heard and understood, and that there are boundaries in place so that you are able to feel comfortable being your full self.

Work on Your Anxiety and Self-Worth with Counseling for Young Adults in Brentwood & Franklin, TN

You don’t have to continue to put up with the anxiety, fear, and doubt. Counseling can help you to feel confident, comfortable, and secure in who you are.

June and I really care about the clients we work with and we want to help you overcome the issues that are holding you back. I believe you deserve to feel confident, overcome trauma, and beat anxiety to feel like the best version of yourself.

To begin your counseling journey at our Franklin, TN counseling office, please follow these steps:

Contact Cody & June to schedule a free 15-minute consultation,
Meet with Cody and June for counseling,
Start overcoming your fears. Feel happier, and more confident. Know you’re free to live your life.

Other Counseling Services Offered by Cody Higgs and Edge

In addition to counseling for young adults, I offer a variety of counseling services in Franklin, TN, and the Nashville area. I want to empower people to be the best version of themselves, overcome their insecurities and feel confident. To help with that, I offer Therapy for Teens, LTBTQ+ Affirming Counseling, Walk + Talk Therapy, and Group Therapy.

Also, In addition to in-person therapy, June and I also offer online therapy for teens and young adults living in Tennessee. If you have questions about therapy or working with me, please visit my FAQ page.

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What are the most common mental disorders in young adults?

Why is anxiety so common in young adults?

Young adulthood has unique stressors. Usually not too long out of high school, maybe you're in college or working, or neither. There can be lots of expectations on you, whether someone else puts them on you or you put them on yourself. The pressure and stress can lead to a lot of discomfort and give way to or worsen anxiety, depressed mood, or trauma symptoms. There can also be a sense of being in limbo between complete independence and still receiving assistance from family.

How to help a young adult with mental health?

I work with young adults a great deal. Early adulthood is a part of life that has unique challenges, and feelings, and I see these every day. Having expectations you feel the need to meet (from yourself, family, society at large) can be tough. Whether you're on your own for the first time, or feeling like you should be, the pressure can be a lot. It's a pressure unique to a certain point in life, and enjoy helping people make it through these unique challenges. As for the type of therapy I use, I combine a few: CBT, Brainspotting, experiential therapies, and some others.

Why are more young adults struggling with mental health?

Many young adults feel the pressure of succeeding in life, and sometimes to succeed really quickly. With increasingly higher standards of living, this can be really difficult depending on your definition of "success." It can add a lot of stress cause people to feel very hurried in life, making it difficult to just relax and be in the moment. You can probably imagine that this isn't ideal for mental health.

How to build confidence in young women?

While I'm not a woman, I do work mostly with women as a therapist and it's pretty common that therapy focuses on self-worth and confidence. Developing confidence and belief in yourself can be tough. Your confidence may have been affected by several things that occurred throughout life, or maybe just something that happened recently. Either way, it typically involves getting to the root of that problem, sorting through it so that you feel a bit better, then testing out that newfound better feeling in real life. Young women face some unique challenges that and struggles at times that affect their confidence, and these are things that June and I frequently help with in counseling. The great thing about rebuilding confidence that it's definitely doable.

Does Gen Z go to therapy?

To make it a short answer, yes. Most of the folks I see for therapy are Gen Z'ers. It's common for my clients to have friends in their age group that go to therapy, as well. Luckily, therapy works for just about any age group. It's important that you have a therapist you feel like you mesh well with and understands you and the issues you're facing. It doesn't have to be someone your age or who you would hang out with as a friend, but you shouldn't feel like your therapist is completely ignorant to your life or that they're out of touch with the culture of the generation you grew up in.

How can I help my young adult with severe anxiety?

Parents reach out to me pretty often to ask about how to help their young adult children or to schedule appointments for them. It's hard to see your kid going through such a tough time. And it's hard being a young adult with severe anxiety, starting a new stage of life with what can be a debilitating emotion. As far as how you can help, helping find a therapist can be a great start. Expressing your support and availability without overstepping your young adult child's boundaries can also be very helpful. It is also usually helpful to do your best to see things from their point of view. You're not always going to understand a Gen Z'er's way of thinking, but you can respect the fact that they feel the way they feel and do your best to avoid judging that. Try to validate those feelings, even if the anxiety or other feelings don't make sense to you personally.