Does your child have trouble dealing with their emotions? Is their behavior sometimes disruptive to your home life? Have they experienced sudden loss or trauma?

As they grow, children and adolescents learn social skills and how to manage emotions. This awareness helps them to develop into healthy, happy, and successful individuals. Some children have trouble processing their emotions, understanding the world around them, and telling someone when they are upset or troubled. This can lead to behavior that negatively impacts their school life, home life, and overall well-being.

Effective Forms of Therapy for Children and Adolescents

Therapy offers children and adolescents a safe space to work through their thoughts and emotions. With the help of a specialized therapist, children can resolve problems, modify behaviors, and make positive and lasting changes.

The following are a few different types of psychotherapy available to children and families. Each offers unique approaches and techniques to bring about positive outcomes. Sometimes a therapist may choose to use just one specific treatment, and other times they may find a combination of various treatments is the best approach.

Use of Play in therapy

In order for therapy with children to be effective, they have to want to come! For that reason, I incorporate all types of play in my therapy sessions, particularly with younger children. We may use therapeutic games, puppets, and creative activities to teach various concepts and learn coping skills. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT helps children to identify harmful thought patterns. Once a child recognizes that their thoughts create their feelings and moods, they can learn to control themselves and their behavior. Research has shown that CBT is highly effective at treating many of the issues that children and teens face in today's world, such as bullying, depression, anxiety, and grief.

Parenting Therapy

Often, working with parents or guardians in therapy is very effective in learning the tools to parent children with all sorts of personalities and behaviors. When the child or teen is the client, sometimes parents or guardians will join sessions, and other times they will meet with the therapist individually. This style of therapy helps to facilitate a great path to for families to improve communication and they can resolve issues. 

At every age, children can be faced with life’s challenges. The following are some of the events and scenarios that can impact a child’s mental health and well-being:

• The death of a loved one
• Bullying
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Domestic violence
• Moving or attending a new school
• Divorce
• Social anxiety
• Depression
• ADHD
• Eating disorders

Therapy is not a quick fix to a child’s behavioral or emotional issues. It is a thoughtful and comprehensive process that provides children with insights and skills so that they may become masters of their thoughts and feelings.

If you would like to explore treatment options for your child, please give my office a call.