Teens talk navigating high school years; some mature topics.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Topics of depression, mental health issues, sexual assault are discussed in some episodes. These episodes tend to be listed as explicit and feature warnings for triggering content. There's an episode where the hosts joke about how they would murder one another.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Teen hosts share their understanding, opinions, and experiences related to drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. Drugs are discussed concerning the industry and their impact on people.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Topics like hookups and sex are mentioned in discussions without including specific details or encounters. Dating and romantic relationships are discussed.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Rotating ads within episodes voiced by hosts directed toward a teen audience.
Positive Messages
a lot
Communication is a major theme, especially safe and healthy communication for teens. Talking about teenage challenges, successes, and everyday experiences, including feelings and emotions, normalizes teens' sharing openly about their feelings. Discussing teen struggles (determining one's sexuality, toxic relationships, mental health challenges) can reduce the negative stigmatization that has historically been associated with troubled youth rather than the average teen journeying through high school and college years. Individuality should be welcomed and celebrated. The show aims to help teens with perseverance in their most impressionable years.
Positive Role Models
a lot
The hosts represent different perspectives, ideas, and identities. While there are many ideas and feelings on topics discussed, all hosts listen and acknowledge one another no matter the variance in opinion. Hosts recognize mistakes, apologize to one another, and note their personal growth as learning opportunities. Guests range from names like Megan Markle and Prince Harry to friends of the show who have overcome adverse experiences through mental health support. Respectful discussion between teen peers as well as discussions between teens and adults demonstrate empathy and compassion.
Diverse Representations
a lot
The hosts represent diverse backgrounds and experiences related to race/ethnicity, gender, and income. The show is filled with explicit conversations around diverse representations within the hosts' frequent spaces. Topics like racial preferences, diversity challenges on college campuses, trans issues, sexuality, homelessness, LGBTQ+ dating, and Black Lives Matter are focused on within individual episodes. Respectful discussions and empathetic conversations between teens and adults.
A handful of experts join the show to share specific knowledge and tools for listeners. Some episodes highlight professional information related to mental health. Resources for mental health support can be found in show notes and on the podcast's website.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Teenager Therapy is a podcast based on the ideas and perspectives of five Gen Z teens from Anaheim, California. The individual identities and the vulnerability of the hosts provide listeners with a range of beliefs and views on topics spanning from sexuality to Halloween costumes to television show recommendations. No subject is left off the table, and the topics covered are limited only by the relevance of the ideas to the hosts' experiences and interests. Sensitive issues like gender as a social construct, sexuality, police brutality, and masculine toxicity come up, but the conversations between hosts allow for a healthy dialogue and a window into a diverse group of teens' thoughts and personal beliefs. The respectful discourse between hosts navigating their teenage years together is eye-opening. Special guests join the show now and then. Megan Markle and Prince Harry join the teens for an entire episode, discussing the need for universal mental health support. The content of the discussions in episodes doesn't include explicit depictions of experiences surrounding sex, drugs, or violence. Some episodes contain swearing from teens, like the use of "f--k," "s--t," and more.
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What’s It About?
TEENAGER THERAPY shares the lives, experiences, and feelings of five teens traveling through their youth years together. The show debuted in 2018 and quickly gained a strong following of fellow Gen Z teens who are able to identify with the perspectives and experiences of the hosts. But it's sure to be timeless and relevant to teens in future generations as well. The show begins when the group starts their sophomore year in high school and follows them to the current day as they're finishing their first year of college. The episodes range in length from 20 minutes to over an hour. Some episodes include guests who are experts on topics around mental health, while others welcome social media influencers and modern-day socialites who provide their perspectives on conversation topics. The hosts pride themselves on being vulnerable. They often remind their followers that what they share is not from a place of expertise, but rather ideas based on their individual identities and lived experiences.
If you want to hear a sample conversation of what goes through the minds of teens today, this is a great listen. Prepare to be intrigued and impressed with the level of integrity, vulnerability, and knowledge the group of teens in Teenager Therapy discuss on poignant topics that matter to them. The content of conversations focuses on normalizing dialogue around teen mental health and social-emotional well-being.
The show receives rave reviews from its large following of fellow teen listeners who identify and see themselves making personal connections with the content and hosts. A solid social media presence and acknowledgment from many influential people and professional media outlets have kept this podcast loved by many, with an average of 40,000+ downloads per episode.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Teenager Therapy focuses on open, honest, and healthy communication between teens. Why is communication an important character strength, especially when navigating adolescence?
Are you comfortable talking about your feelings and emotions? Why, or why not? If so, who do you feel most comfortable talking about your feelings to, and how do they make you feel comfortable?
What are some of the struggles you face being a teen today? What are some of the benefits of being a teen today? How does hearing other teens' perspectives help you with your struggles?
What does "stigma" mean? How can talking about topics destigmatize them?
Which host(s) do you connect or identify with most? Why might that be?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Mary Field
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
