About Therapy Compass
Finding the right therapist for your teen shouldn’t feel like guesswork.
Yet many parents discover that once they start looking for help for their teen, the process can quickly become overwhelming. Therapist directories list hundreds of providers, each using different approaches, and it’s often unclear what will actually help.
As a clinician with over a decade of experience in mental health and working with teens, I’ve seen how often families are expected to navigate this process without guidance. Parents want to help their teen, but they’re left trying to interpret unfamiliar therapy models, compare therapists with very different styles, and make important decisions with very little support.
Therapy Compass was created to bridge that gap.
My goal is to help parents understand what type of support may help their teen most and guide them toward therapists who are the strongest fit.
I know from both professional experience and personal insight how powerful the right therapeutic relationship can be. The right therapist and approach can create meaningful change, not only for a teen but for the entire family.
Therapy Compass exists to help families move through that process with clarity, confidence, and the support of someone who understands the mental health system from the inside.
The Challenge of Finding the Right Support
Many parents are encouraged to keep trying therapy for their teen without being given guidance on how to evaluate whether it’s actually helping. When it doesn’t seem to work, families are often left wondering what went wrong - whether their teen isn’t trying hard enough, the approach isn’t right, or the therapist simply isn’t the right fit.
In reality, parents never receive guidance on how to:
Understand different therapeutic approaches beyond buzzwords
Identify what their teen actually needs support for right now
Recognize the difference between a helpful challenge and a poor fit
Ask the right questions when choosing a therapist
About Me
I’m a licensed social worker with over a decade of experience working with teens and young adults across multiple levels of mental health care. Early in my career, I worked in wilderness therapy with adolescents navigating addiction, self-harm, and low self-esteem, and later supported teens and young adults in intensive outpatient treatment programs.
These experiences gave me a close view of how complex mental health journeys can be for both young people and their families.
I later co-founded Logos Healing Institute in 2017, a nonprofit focused on trauma-informed care and clinician training. Through this work, I’ve partnered with therapists and programs across the field and developed a deeper understanding of what actually leads to meaningful change in therapy.
I believe therapy can be one of the most powerful investments a person or family can make. But its effectiveness often depends on something many people overlook: the vital relationship between the therapist, the approach, and the individual seeking help.
If you are a parent struggling to figure out how to support your teen’s mental health, I would love to help you find direction and clarity.
Jessica Garbett, MS, LSW