What is Emerging Adulthood?
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is challenging, whether you are 18 or 29. Emerging adults assume various new responsibilities like paying taxes and rent, coordinating utilities, and taking on a job to make a living for the first time. The transition to living independently and making complex decisions regarding the trajectory of your life can be overwhelming. But perhaps the greatest challenge is trying to answer the biggest questions about finding meaning in life that emerge as we move from adolescence to young adulthood: 

• Who am I? What is my identity? Who do I want to be? Faced with so many possibilities and many of us have no idea where to even begin. Almost all of us end up feeling pulled between being who we authentically are and the expectations of who others want us to be.
• What do I want to do? What is my purpose? What should I do for a living? Whether you are 18 or 29, we are constantly being asked what academic area we are studying or majoring in, what we want to do with our lives, where we want to live, who we want to do life with, or what career we are going to do next. 
• Where do I fit in? Where do I belong and find community? Many of us struggle to build new friendships or maintain old ones, especially at long distances. Some of us have trouble with our parents, whether our parents are having a hard time letting us grow up as they still try to parent us the same way as when we were teens, or that we have grown beyond our parents' beliefs, values, or ways of thinking and doing life.

As an emerging adult, you may be feeling: 

• Confused or Stuck: You may feel like there are endless paths in front of you—school, career, relationships—but none of them feel quite right, leaving you unsure of which direction to take.
• Wandering or Lost: You may feel like you’re moving without a clear destination, drifting between jobs, degrees of study, places, or relationships while trying to figure out what truly fits.
• That you have more questions than answers: You may be asking yourself, Who am I? What do I want? Where am I going? but struggling to find clarity in the process.
• Overwhelmed or Stressed out: You may feel the weight of responsibilities—balancing work, studies, finances, or family expectations—which can sometimes feel like too much to manage.
• Anxious or Depressed: You may feel worry, self-doubt, or sadness creep in, especially when it seems like everyone else has it “together” while you’re still trying to figure things out.​​

 Whatever you may be wrestling with, you don’t have to have it all figured out – you don’t have to do it alone. We offer support for young adults navigating life’s demands and biggest questions. 

How Therapy Can Help:
At You Matter MI, we offer compassion, connection, and care. We can support you as you craft your story and discover your identity, purpose, and where you truly belong. Together, we can work on:

• Parts work - figure out how different parts of you affect your relationships and decisions
• Mindfulness - slowing down when life gets complicated to be present in the moment 
• Cognitive - how the way you think and your limiting beliefs affect your actions
• Somatic - how listening to your body’s signals and reconnecting with it can help you feel better
• Coping tools - resources a person uses to manage stress, difficult emotions, or challenging situations
• Interpersonal skills - building and maintaining healthy relationships, communicating with others effectively, setting healthy boundaries, and resolving conflicts.  
• Authentic self - learn more about yourself and work on self-acceptance and self-compassion to become happier and feel like you are thriving in life, not just surviving

Discover your path, own your story, and build a life that feels like yours! ​