Therapy for Substance Use and Addiction in BIPOC Teens and Young Adults

Trauma can shape the way you think, feel, and relate to others, even when you don’t realize it. For teens and young adults, it might show up as emotional overwhelm, disconnection, people-pleasing, shutting down, or self-sabotage. Sometimes, it doesn’t look like trauma at all—it just feels like something’s always “off.”

For folks from marginalized communities, trauma is often layered with systemic injustice, cultural silence, and intergenerational pain. That kind of trauma doesn’t just live in your past; it lives in your body, your relationships, your sense of safety.

In therapy, we work gently and intentionally to untangle this. Through body-based and emotionally focused approaches, we create space to process what happened, restore a sense of safety, and build resilience in a way that honors your culture, your story, and your pace.

Substance use doesn’t happen in a vacuum. For many teens and young adults, especially those navigating trauma, family pressure, cultural stigma, or mental health challenges, it can become a way to cope with pain, numb out, or feel in control.

If you come from a family or culture where addiction is seen as a moral failing, not a mental health issue, asking for help can feel almost impossible. Shame, secrecy, and fear of judgment can keep the cycle going while making everyone feel even more alone.

In therapy, we don’t just focus on the substance. We look at what’s underneath it and work together to build healthier ways of coping. Whether you're struggling yourself or supporting someone who is, we'll explore tools that help you reduce harm, stay grounded, and take steps toward healing that actually sticks.

When it feels like your worth depends on never messing up, being human stops feeling like an option. And when you grew up being the responsible one, the high achiever, the one who couldn’t afford to fall apart — perfectionism can slide in quietly and take over fast.

For many high-performing teens and young adults, especially in families where expectations are high and mistakes feel like they come with real consequences, perfectionism becomes more than “trying your best.” It turns into a survival strategy. You’re trying to avoid judgment, avoid disappointing your family, avoid losing the image of who everyone thinks you are. It can feel like one wrong move could unravel everything you’ve worked for.

In therapy, we slow the system down so you don’t have to keep white-knuckling your way through life. You’ll learn how to regulate your nervous system, work through the memories and messages that taught you perfection was the only safe option, and build a healthier relationship with pressure. Not by lowering your standards or losing your ambition — but by untangling the fear underneath it so you can perform, rest, and grow without the constant threat of “not enough.”

When you’ve been performing under pressure for so long, whether its on the field, on the stage, in school, or under the weight of your family’s expectations, your body learns to stay on high alert. Mistakes can feel bigger than they are. Setbacks can hit harder. And the moments where you’re supposed to shine can start to feel like threats instead of opportunities.

For many teens and young adults, especially athletes and high performers of color carrying cultural pressures, injuries, harsh coaching, public mistakes, or even one moment can leave an imprint. Your mind knows you’re capable, but your body freezes, overthinks, or shuts down when it matters most. Suddenly you’re performing great in practice but falling apart in high-stakes moments, or you’re stuck in a plateau and can’t figure out why.

In therapy, we make space for the parts of you that still feel scared, pressured, or wounded. You’ll learn how to work with your nervous system instead of against it, to reset after mistakes, process the experiences that got stuck in your body, and rebuild your trust in yourself. Not by pushing harder, but by healing the injuries underneath the surface so you can show up with clarity, confidence, and coherence when it counts.

If you’ve ever been told you’re lazy, too sensitive, or too much, you might have learned to hide how bad things really feel. Depression and anxiety in young people of color often don’t look like what people expect. They might show up as anger, fighting, lashing out, doing drugs, partying too much, overworking, over-planning, or shutting down completely. Sometimes it gets labeled as “disrespectful,” “lazy,” “out of control,” “uptight” or “extra”—but underneath, it’s pain, fear, or pressure no one taught you how to name. They can also show up as burnout, isolation, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or never feeling like you’re “enough.”

In therapy, we slow things down and make space for the feelings you’ve had to hold in. We’ll work on understanding your patterns, building emotional tools, and reconnecting with the parts of you that have been shut out or pushed aside.

ADHD isn’t just about focus. It’s about having a brain that works differently in a world that wasn’t built for it. For young people of color, especially those in families that value discipline, order, or emotional control, ADHD can be misunderstood as laziness, defiance, or “not trying hard enough.”

You might find yourself zoning out, forgetting things, saying stuff you didn’t mean to, or crashing after bursts of energy. Maybe you overwork to hide it. Maybe you’ve been told you’re “too much” your whole life or started using substances to quiet the noise or feel “normal.”

In therapy, we explore how your brain works without labeling you or trying to make you fit into a mold. We build tools for focus, time, and emotion regulation but we also work on releasing the shame and creating a new narrative. ADHD support is about more than just executive functioning; it’s about seeing yourself clearly and working with your brain, not against it.

Growing up between cultures can feel like constantly switching versions of yourself: what’s expected at home vs. what’s expected out in the world. For teens and young adults of color, especially those from immigrant families, this constant code-switching can lead to deep confusion, isolation, loneliness, and pressure to be everything for everyone.

You might struggle with feeling “not enough” in any space or carry guilt for wanting something different than what your family imagined for you. On top of that, the impact of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, or gender-based discrimination can make it even harder to feel safe, seen, or worthy.

In therapy, we create space to unpack all of this: cultural identity, family expectations, intergenerational conflict, and systemic stress. You’ll have room to process what’s been passed down to you, explore who you are, and build a more grounded, confident relationship with your story.

How we learn to connect and protect ourselves often starts in our early relationships. If you grew up with emotional distance, chaos, or pressure to hold it together instead of express yourself, it makes sense if you struggle to trust people, open up, or feel safe being vulnerable and close to others.

Attachment wounds don’t always look like fear. They can show up as pushing people away, getting “too close too fast,” emotional shutdowns, or constantly fearing you’re ‘too much’ or ‘not enough.’ Sometimes, relationships feel overwhelming. Other times, they feel impossible.

In therapy, we explore those patterns with care and curiosity. You’ll learn how your early experiences shaped the way you relate to others, and how to build safer, more connected relationships starting with the one you have with yourself.

Supporting a teen through substance use is hard, especially when no one talks about it and parents who have not gone through it just don’t understand. People might make you feel like you’re a “bad” parent, like you’re doing something wrong, when in reality, you’re doing everything you can, often in silence, and often alone.

Parents often carry guilt, shame, or fear of being judged, especially in families or cultures where mental health and addiction are taboo. It can feel like you’re failing, even when you’re trying your hardest to hold it all together.

Parent coaching creates a space where you don’t have to have all the answers. Together, we’ll look at what’s underneath your teen’s struggles, such as trauma, anxiety, peer pressure, or emotional overwhelm, and explore how you can support their healing without losing yourself in the process.

You’ll learn tools to reduce conflict, rebuild trust, and communicate in ways that actually land. We’ll also talk about how to care for you because your stress, grief, trauma, and fear deserve attention too. You don’t have to do this alone, and you don’t have to do it perfectly to make a difference. You just have to stay in the room and we’ll figure it out together.