After my last post, a number of parents and SLPs have contacted me to find out what typical therapy sessions with young adults look like on a weekly basis. They were especially curious about how therapy can support young adults who struggle with managing emotions, staying organized, and navigating social situations. Many of these young adults feel stuck between adolescence and independence, grappling with self-doubt, stress sensitivity, and inconsistent success in work, school, and relationships.
With the appropriate supports, therapy for young adults can provide structured skill-building, emotional regulation strategies, and executive functioning scaffolds—all within a framework that supports autonomy and self-determination.
Here’s what a typical therapy plan might include, along with a sample structure of what weekly sessions can look like. These supports are drawn from real case experiences and are tailored to meet the needs of neurodivergent young adults who are intelligent, insightful, and often misunderstood.
Sample Weekly Therapy Session Structure for Young Adults
Session Length: 60 minutes
Session Frequency: Weekly
Setting: Virtual via Zoom
Typical Session Flow
1. Check-In & Reflection
- Review emotional state using mood tracking or a stress scale
- Reflect on wins or challenges from the past week (e.g., “What felt good?” / “What was hard?”).
- Discuss carryover from last week’s strategy or experiment
- Explore any avoided situations, shutdowns, or social misunderstandings
2. Skill Building
Targeted practice aligned with treatment goals, such as:
- Emotional regulation: Labeling higher order emotions, interoception, CBT reframing
- Communication: Role-playing advanced social scripts, perspective-taking, summarizing messages
- Executive functioning: Task breakdown, time blocking, priority setting, “what’s stopping me?” reflection
- Self-advocacy & social boundaries: Scripting hard conversations, boundary language, teasing/sarcasm cues
- Career & life planning: Strengths-based goal setting, mock interviews, resume work
3. Real-World Application & Planning
- Connect the session’s focus to something they need to navigate that week (e.g., prepping for a conversation, following through on a task, managing overwhelm).
- Can include household activities such as grocery shopping, laundry, picking up meds, cleaning their room, etc.
- Choose one low-stakes “experiment” that aligns with current goals or challenges—such as texting a friend, setting a small boundary, or asking for clarification instead of masking confusion.
- Use digital tools like virtual planners, checklists, or reminders to organize next steps and make follow-through more realistic.
- Collaboratively identify 1–2 personalized action steps based on what’s coming up for them (e.g., a job interview, group event, hard task they’ve been avoiding).
- End with a concrete takeaway—such as a shared doc, screenshot, or summary message—that keeps goals visible and actionable between sessions.
4. Wrap-Up & Encouragement
- Affirm progress: “Even showing up counts as effort.”
- Set intention for the week (e.g., “This week, I’m practicing speaking up when confused.”)
- Option to send a visual or written summary of takeaways post-session
Therapy Recommendations for Young Adults (Based on Client Profiles)
- Use visual supports and checklists to scaffold independence
- Focus on identity-building, self-compassion, and growth mindset
- Prioritize scripting, role-playing, and reflection over lecture-style teaching
- Respect autonomy: co-create goals and allow space for setbacks
- Anchor work in function, not just performance (e.g., feeling more capable socially or completing a task with less anxiety)
- Support vocational development with mock interviews, strength-based resumes, and stress-free exploration
- Emphasize connection—relationships and support systems are key to sustained success
Young adulthood with language and learning challenges can be difficult. Many clients know what they want to do, but struggle to follow through in daily life. With the right structure and support, therapy helps turn that insight into real-world skills and routines that feel doable and meaningful. It’s not just about talking—it’s about building tools for everyday success.