5 Boulder Teen Therapists
[Now Accepting Clients]
Your teenager may be asking for more independence while also needing more support than they know how to ask for. Anxiety, big emotions, friendship stress, identity questions, neurodivergence, or simply the pressure of growing up can leave teens feeling overwhelmed, and leave parents wondering how to help without pushing too hard.
At Rooted Rhythm, our Boulder teen therapists create a space where teens can feel understood without being judged or treated like a problem to fix.
Jump to a provider
Erica Lazarus: Good fit for highly sensitive teens building self-trust
Maggie Rosen: Good fit for teens with intense anxiety or depression
Jessika Allison: Good fit for teens who want practical coping skills
Laurel Nook: Good fit for teens with anxiety, trauma & emotional dysregulation
Elana Cohen: Good fit for teens with ADHD & complex emotional needs
If you aren't sure who would be the right match for your teen, reach out and we'll help you find a therapist based on their needs, personality, and preferences.
Meet our Boulder teen therapists
Erica Lazarus
Good fit for highly sensitive teens building self-trust
Hi, I'm Erica. I especially love working with highly sensitive teens who feel things deeply and may be trying to figure out how to trust themselves in a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming. My background in school-based social work, youth empowerment, and trauma-informed community support helps me understand both the internal experience of adolescence and the environments teens are navigating every day.
I bring a warm, holistic approach incorporating mindfulness, somatic practices, and culturally attuned care to help teens reconnect with their strengths and move through the world with greater authenticity and confidence.
Credentials: Licensed Social Worker #LSW.0009924768
Specialty Areas: Highly sensitive teens, self-esteem, identity development, trauma, emotional regulation, self-trust
Availability: In person in Boulder and virtual across Colorado
Maggie Rosen
Good fit for teens with intense anxiety or depression
Hi, I'm Maggie. My experience directing an adolescent intensive outpatient program means I'm especially comfortable working with teenagers whose anxiety, depression, trauma, or emotions have begun to seriously interfere with everyday life.
I may be a great fit for someone looking for teen therapy in Boulder and wants a steady, relational space where their teen can understand what's happening internally, build stronger regulation skills, and feel less alone in what they're carrying. I also value collaboration with parents, helping families strengthen connection without taking away the teen's growing independence.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #CSW.09932671
Specialty Areas: Anxiety, depression, trauma, identity development, family transitions, intense emotions
Availability: Virtual across Colorado
Jessika Allison
Good fit for teens who want practical coping skills
Hi, I'm Jessika. Some teens want therapy to give them something concrete they can actually use when anxiety spikes, emotions take over, or negative thought patterns start running the show. I draw heavily from CBT and DBT to help teens understand the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors while developing practical strategies they can take into school, friendships, family life, and stressful moments. I'm also passionate about working with adolescents and young adults, so therapy is shaped around the developmental challenges they're facing rather than treating them like younger children or adults.
Credentials: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor #LPCC.0025242
Specialty Areas: Adolescents and young adults, difficult emotions, coping skills, confidence, behavioral patterns
Availability: Virtual across Colorado
Laurel Nook
Good fit for teens with anxiety, trauma & emotional dysregulation
Hi, I'm Laurel. I bring many years of experience working with children, teens, and families, which allows me to stay grounded when emotions, relationships, or circumstances feel anything but steady. I specialize in anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, and family connection and use creative approaches alongside CBT, ACT, DBT, and Emotion-Focused Family Therapy. As both a therapist and clinical supervisor, I bring depth and experience to the work while keeping sessions warm, relational, creative, and responsive to what each teen actually needs.
Credentials: Licensed Professional Counselor #LPC.0021762
Specialty Areas: Anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, life transitions, parent-child relationships
Availability: Virtual across Colorado
Elana Cohen
Good fit for teens with ADHD, trauma & complex emotional needs
Hi, I’m Elana. I’ve spent more than a decade working with children, teens, adults, and families across a wide range of settings, including schools, outpatient programs, wilderness therapy, intensive treatment, and in-home family work. That breadth of experience helps me work especially well with teens whose challenges don’t fit neatly into one category, such as ADHD alongside anxiety, trauma, depression, family stress, or substance use. I take a holistic, strengths-based approach and draw from trauma-informed care, CBT, positive psychology, and experiential therapy to help teens understand themselves, build functional skills, and find healthier ways to move through difficult emotions and relationships.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker CSW.09927360
Specialty Areas: ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, family dynamics, highly sensitive teens
Availability: Virtual across Colorado
What sets our practice apart from other Boulder teen therapy providers
We don't see sensitivity, giftedness, or neurodivergence as something to fix. We help teens better understand the way they experience the world and build on the strengths they already have.
We look beneath behavior. Anger, shutting down, avoidance, perfectionism, and emotional outbursts usually communicate something. Our Boulder teen therapists use attachment-informed and nervous-system-aware approaches to understand what's underneath rather than simply focusing on stopping a behavior.
Your teen gets space to make therapy their own. Adolescence naturally involves developing more independence. We prioritize building a trusting relationship directly with your teen while maintaining appropriate collaboration with parents. We also require teens to be willing participants in their own therapy.
Parents get support, too. Supporting a sensitive or emotional teen can be deeply rewarding, but it can also stir up stress, self-doubt, and strong emotions for parents. Rooted Rhythm offers parent coaching, therapy when appropriate, and additional resources through the Tuned In Institute so caregivers have space to feel supported while learning how to stay connected with their teen.
You have more options for therapist fit. Boulder families can choose from in-person and virtual options, giving you access to therapists with different specialties, personalities, and approaches instead of simply choosing whoever happens to be closest.
We accept several major Colorado insurance plans. Rooted Rhythm currently lists Colorado Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and United among its accepted insurance options, along with private-pay and out-of-network options.
We're a connected clinical team. Our therapists bring different backgrounds and specialties while working within the same relationship-centered, strengths-based practice. That means we're able to think carefully about therapist fit rather than expecting every teen to respond to the same style of therapy.
Meet the Founder
Sophie Schauermann, MSW, LCSW
Rooted Rhythm was founded by Sophie Schauermann, a licensed clinical social worker who has spent more than a decade working with sensitive children, teens, adults, and the families who support them. Her work is grounded in the belief that sensitivity, neurodivergence, and big emotions aren't problems to eliminate; they're experiences to better understand and support.
Sophie is also the founder of the Tuned In Institute, Rooted Rhythm's research and education arm, which translates the science of sensitivity, attachment, and self-regulation into practical resources families can use outside the therapy room. She is the author of multiple Tuned In books, including guides for parents of sensitive children and teens, extending the same ideas behind Rooted Rhythm into resources families can return to between sessions and throughout different stages of development.
Families can also access Remi, the Tuned In AI concierge. Remi is trained on resources from the Tuned In Institute and Rooted Rhythm and helps members find relevant guidance and tools when questions come up in everyday life.
Sophie's work helps shape the broader philosophy our Boulder teen therapists bring to care: understand what's beneath the behavior, support the nervous system, strengthen relationships, and help young people feel more at home in who they are.
FAQs about teen therapy in Boulder
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Teenagers naturally go through changes in mood, independence, friendships, and identity. Therapy may be helpful when those challenges begin to interfere with daily life or your teen seems increasingly unlike themselves. Some signs your teen may benefit from additional support include:
Persistent anxiety, sadness, irritability, or anger
Pulling away from family or friends
Losing interest in activities they used to enjoy
School avoidance or a significant change in academic performance
Frequent emotional overwhelm or meltdowns
Perfectionism or intense fear of failure
Low self-esteem or negative self-talk
Changes in sleeping or eating
Difficulty recovering after a major transition, loss, or traumatic experience
You don't have to wait until things become severe before reaching out. Teen therapy in Boulder, CO, can also give teens a supportive place to work through challenges before they begin to feel unmanageable.
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Our teen therapists in Colorado work with teenagers experiencing a wide range of emotional, behavioral, relational, and developmental concerns, including:
Anxiety and excessive worry
Depression and low mood
ADHD and executive functioning challenges
Autism and neurodivergence
High sensitivity
Giftedness and twice-exceptionality
Trauma
Emotional dysregulation and big emotions
Anger
Perfectionism
Self-esteem
Identity development
Friendship and peer concerns
Parent-teen conflict
Grief and loss
Divorce and family transitions
School stress
Because every teen is different, we'll help you think through which therapist's background and style may be the strongest match.
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Teen therapy provides something that can be surprisingly difficult to find during adolescence: a relationship with a supportive adult who isn't a parent, teacher, coach, or friend and doesn't need your teen to perform a particular role.
Within that relationship, your teen can begin making sense of emotions, recognizing patterns, learning regulation and communication skills, exploring their identity, and developing greater trust in themselves. The goal isn't to turn them into a different teenager. It's to help them understand and care for the person they already are.
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Working with teenagers requires a different balance than working with younger children. We typically connect with parents at the beginning of treatment, but then give teens more ownership over what happens within their individual sessions.
With the teen's permission, we aim to connect with parents for brief check-ins at least every other week and may invite parents more directly into therapy when it would be beneficial. This gives your teenager developmentally appropriate privacy while keeping you supported as their parent. We can also help teens communicate their needs more clearly at home and offer parent coaching and Tuned In resources when caregivers want additional support.
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We believe teenagers need some ownership over the decision to participate. Rooted Rhythm requires teens to consent to engaging in therapy rather than attending solely because a parent wants them there.
If your teen is hesitant, it can help to approach the conversation with curiosity instead of pressure. You might talk about what they would want from a therapist, whether they'd prefer virtual or in-person sessions, and what kind of person might make them feel comfortable. Having several Boulder teen therapists to choose from can also give your teen more agency in finding someone they genuinely connect with.
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Teen therapy is often eligible for behavioral health insurance benefits, although coverage depends on your specific plan and therapist. At Rooted Rhythm, we currently accept Colorado Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, and Aetna insurance options and can also provide out-of-network options for some families.
Reach out to our team and we can help you understand the options available for your family.