When School Is the Hard Part

Therapy for school stress, friendship trouble & peer relationships — teens in Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay & online across Wisconsin

The grades slipped, or the effort did. Sunday nights end in a stomachache. Getting them out the door has become a negotiation, and "how was school?" gets you one syllable. Maybe there's friend drama you only hear about in fragments — a group chat that turned, a lunch table that closed, a best friend who suddenly isn't.

School is a teenager's whole world: their job, their social life, and their report card on themselves, all in one building. When something's wrong there, it's never "just school."

What this looks like at home

• School avoidance — the headaches and stomachaches that cluster on school mornings, the mounting absences
• Grades dropping, or grades fine but the cost rising: tears over homework, late nights, panic before tests
• Friendship trouble — exclusion, on-again-off-again friend groups, bullying (in person or in the group chat that never sleeps)
• Social anxiety — eating lunch alone, avoiding presentations, skipping the things they used to love
• A kid who used to talk to you and now mostly doesn't

That last one matters: it's developmentally normal for teens to stop confiding in parents — and it's exactly why a therapist helps. Your teen gets an adult who's on their side, bound by confidentiality, and not grading them on anything.

How therapy helps

First, your teen gets a place to actually say what's happening — often the full story a parent hasn't heard. From there, the work is practical: skills for the anxiety that fuels avoidance, tools for navigating friend conflict and repairing (or grieving) friendships, confidence for the social moments they've been dodging, and untangling how much of their self-worth got welded to grades and group chats.

Parents stay in the loop the way the work needs — informed and involved, while sessions stay a place your teen can be honest without an audience.

Who your teen would work with

Amanda Lo, MSW, APSW, LCSW

Works with teens through adults on identity, academic stress, and life transitions — person-centered and solution-focused, which means your teen feels heard and leaves with something to try this week. Her first words to a new client are usually some version of: I'm proud of you for getting here.

Openings now

Meet Amanda →

Lizzy Malchow, MS, LPC-IT

Specializes in teen girls and young women — perfectionism, people-pleasing, anxiety, and the social pressure cooker of middle and high school. She's been on the client side of therapy herself and takes finding the right fit seriously.

Openings now

Meet Lizzy →

Common questions from parents

"Will you tell me what my teen says in session?"
Sessions are confidential — that's what makes them work. You'll know how therapy is going and how to help, and you'll always be told if there's a safety concern. What your teen said stays theirs to share.

"What if my child is younger — elementary age?"
We have therapists who work with younger children too (including early childhood). Book a free consult and we'll match you to the right person.

"Is this college-related?"
For students already in college, we built a separate page: therapy for college students →