Teens & young adults
Counseling for Teens & Young Adults in Colorado
If you're searching for a counselor for your teenager — or you're a young adult looking for someone who actually gets this season of life — here's what working with me looks like.
Who I work with
My core focus is ages 13 to 30: middle and high schoolers, college students, and twenty-somethings navigating the years where identity, direction, and confidence are all up for grabs. That includes anxiety and depression, school and career pressure, friendship and relationship struggles, grief, trauma, questions of purpose and faith, and LGBTQ+ identity exploration in an affirming, pressure-free space.
I also work with the people who love them — parents who can't reach their struggling teen, and families renegotiating how to stay connected while a kid becomes an adult.
Why this age range is my specialty
The teen and young adult years compress more change into a decade than any other stretch of life — and they're often when anxiety, depression, and old wounds first announce themselves. It's also the age when the fit with a therapist matters most: a 16-year-old or a 24-year-old can smell inauthenticity instantly. My approach is warm, direct, and judgment-free, and I've spent my career mentoring and guiding young adults — in counseling rooms, workshops, and team settings — through exactly these seasons.
I've also lived it. I haven't just studied anxiety, depression, grief, and trauma; I've walked through them. That lived experience is why young people tend to relax in my office: they can tell the difference between a professional reciting techniques and a guide who knows the terrain.
How it works
The approach: emotionally focused and attachment-based — we treat feelings as signals, follow them to the root, and change the pattern there, using evidence-based methods at a human pace. Not a lecture. Not a worksheet factory.
The logistics: in-person sessions at my Castle Pines office (7505 Village Square Drive, Suite 207 — serving Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and the greater Denver south metro), or secure telehealth from anywhere in Colorado. I accept Kaiser and Colorado Medicaid (Colorado Access and CCHA), can provide a superbill for out-of-network plans, and self pay is always welcome.
The first step: a free 15-minute phone consult. For parents, that's a conversation about what you're seeing and whether counseling fits. For young adults, it's a zero-pressure way to see if I'm someone you could actually talk to. Either way — no cost, no commitment, and if I'm not the right fit, I'll point you to someone who is.
A note to the parent reading this at midnight
If you're here because you're worried about your kid, take a breath. Reaching out is not an overreaction, and it doesn't mean you've failed — it means you're paying attention. Most parents tell me they wish they'd called sooner.
← Back to the siteJoel Laos, MA, LPCC is a counselor in Castle Pines, Colorado, working with individuals, couples, and families in person and via telehealth across Colorado. If your child or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) now.