Failure to Launch
Transitioning to an adult with responsibilities is challenging
Adolescence and young adulthood represent transformative growth on every level of one’s being and move exceedingly fast. As young people navigate their teen years, they understand the relationship between their freedoms and the need to accept more responsibility.
It is a time when young people choose to pursue college or a trade school or decide to find work and begin building their careers as young professionals.
This time is when intimate relationships take on a new priority in one’s life and when we experience both the highs and lows accompanying these relationships – often falling in love and enduring heartbreak.
While some young adults navigate this time successfully, many experience this transition as extremely difficult and wrought with uncertainty.
Uncertainties can make the transition difficult
Failure to launch describes the experience of many people between the ages of 18 and 25 who find themselves uncertain about moving forward in their lives and needing counsel.
Increased mood instability, acting-out behaviors and the emergence of addiction patterns are ways that they may express the struggles they feel while trying to understand how best to navigate their life at this time.
The difficulties that emerge during this time of life present a challenge for the young person going through this phase and their parent(s), who often feel unsure of how best to support their child.
Counseling can make the transition easier
Blue Collar Counseling aims to support and educate the young clients in my care and to offer guidance and counsel for their parent(s).
I have consistently observed a pattern between the struggles of a young adult who is failing to launch and the presence of unresolved issues from earlier parts of their lives, which often involve the dynamics within their family.
Therefore, when working with young adults who are “failing to launch” I believe strongly in weaving together individual and family therapy when possible.
Help make the transition easier for your young adult. Let’s work together to identify the challenges and develop a strategy to ease the struggles that make launching to full adulthood difficult.