Healing Teen Anxiety Through Collaborative Care: Counseling and Acupuncture for Nervous System Reset

Anxiety, restlessness, anger, mood swings, and emotional overwhelm are becoming increasingly common amongst teenagers. Parents are often feeling just as anxious and exhausted as their children and they are left wondering how they can truly help beyond short-term fixes. Social pressure, phone addiction and FOMO, social media exploitation, academic pressures, athletic performance stress, unresolved trauma, divorce, and nervous system overload all play a role in this rising storm. Many parents don't know where to turn. 

Recently, our trusted colleague, Gina Nelson, LCSW of Authentic Gains was featured on the Chris Voss Podcast, where she spoke authoritatively about teen anxiety, emotional regulation, and the importance of healthy relationships within families. Her grounded, compassionate, insight reflects exactly why collaborative care, with educated providers, is so effective. Her personal experience raising several teenagers gives her an advantage of not just clinical expertise, but personal experience. 

We encourage families to watch her interview to better understand how emotional healing unfolds when teens feel safe, heard, and supported.

Anxiety in Teens Is a Nervous System Issue—Not a Character Flaw

Teen anxiety often reveals itself as:

  • Restlessness

  • Constant agitation or irritation projected at others

  • Mood swings

  •  Irritability or easy to anger

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Panic attacks

  • Withdrawal or emotional shutdown

  • Trouble focusing or feeling “on edge” all the time

From a physiological standpoint, these symptoms reflect what happens when their nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight. They can easily be over reactive and that triggers the parents to often be over reactive right back. When the body doesn’t feel safe, the mind struggles to regulate emotions, process experiences appropriately, or maintain healthy relationships.

This is where a nervous system reset becomes critical to the teens health and the family dynamic.  When one person in a family is struggling, the whole family suffers. 

How Acupuncture Helps Reset the Nervous System

At Eagle Acupuncture, Tony Burris, LAc, and Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM, work with teens and adults to calm and regulate their nervous system using acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Many people don't know their nervous system needs a reset. They have adapted and become accustomed to their unhealthy coping often thinking this is just normal stress stuff. But the truth is, even a little stress or trauma in our past or present can benefit from a nervous system calm down.  Acupuncture alleviates anxiety and mood regulation by:

  • Activating the parasympathetic “rest and digest” response that is extraordinarily relaxing

  • Lowering stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine all released by adrenal glands

  • Improving sleep quality, quantity and restful awakening response

  • Reducing physical symptoms of anxiety and restlessness including but not limited to: heart palpitations, racing heart,  chest pain or tightness, reflux, constipation, brain fog, or hard time concentrating 

  • Supporting emotional resilience and nervous system flexibility

When the nervous system calms down, teens often feel more present, less reactive, and more able to engage in therapy, school, sports, social life and healthy family interactions.

However, physiological regulation is only one piece of true healing.

Why Counseling Is Essential for Emotional and Relational Healing

This is where Gina Nelson’s work truly shines.

Through her counseling practice at Authentic Gains, Gina helps teens, and their parents develop emotional awareness, communication skills, and healthier relationships—with themselves and with their parents. Her approach allows teens to explore anxiety, trauma, and stress in a safe, structured environment while learning tools that foster long-term emotional health.

On the Chris Voss Podcast, Gina speaks with clarity about:

  • How anxiety impacts teen behavior and family dynamics

  • Why emotional regulation skills are critical during adolescence

  • How parents can support healing without control, fear, or shame

Her work complements acupuncture beautifully. We have co-treated patients beautifully. When the nervous system is calmer, teens are more receptive to counseling. When counseling helps teens process emotions and relational stress, the nervous system stabilizes more fully. 

Healing Trauma Requires Both Body and Mind

Trauma, whether current or from the past,  minor or major, it's stored in the body, the brain and the nervous system. Teens may not always have the language to describe it, but their bodies remember. This can manifest as chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional shutdown, mood volatility and even eating disorders or drug and alcohol dependence.

Acupuncture helps the body feel safe again.

Counseling helps the mind and relationships heal.

Co-treating with trusted professionals like Gina allows healing to happen on multiple levels:

  • Nervous system regulation

  • Emotional processing

  • Relationship repair

  • Long-term resilience and self-regulation

This integrative approach is especially effective for teens who feel “stuck” or families who have tried multiple interventions without lasting improvement.

Why We Believe in Referring Out—and Working Together

One of the most important aspects of ethical healthcare is knowing when collaboration leads to better outcomes. We do not believe one practitioner can do everything and that includes us. We believe in building strong referral relationships rooted in education, experience,  trust, and shared values.

At DoctorBabymaker.com, Dr. Kristen Burris frequently emphasizes root-cause healing and whole-person care—whether supporting fertility, hormonal health, or nervous system regulation. Here she is helping parents achieve pregnancy so they can become the parents they dreamt of. Some had past trauma from their teen years they need to shed before they feel they can be healthy parents themselves.  The root-cause, whole mind/body philosophy naturally extends to mental and emotional wellness.

We deeply respect Gina Nelson’s education, grounded presence, and the trust she builds with teens and parents alike. Co-treating with her enhances outcomes for families and allows each provider to work within their area of expertise, while supporting the same healing goals.

A Message for Parents

If your teen is struggling with anxiety, restlessness, mood changes, or emotional overwhelm, know this:

  • They are not broken. Their nervous system may simply need support. We have expertise, personal experience and education to make lasting changes. 

  • Healing is possible when the body and mind are addressed together—and when families are supported, not blamed.

We encourage you to watch Gina Nelson’s interview on the Chris Voss Podcast and explore how a collaborative approach using acupuncture and counseling can help your teen—and your family—move toward greater calm, connection, and resilience. 

Colin Eggleston