Children’s Therapy
Is your child exhibiting big emotions that make life difficult at home? Do you feel like you are on your last legs in trying to manage their emotions? Maybe you feel like nothing will work in addressing yours and your child’s emotions. Many parents I have worked with over the years have told me these exact problems in their children’s therapy.
When our children becomes deregulated, we as parents are much more likely to be deregulated. This is when it is time to seek out children’s therapy for your child and family.
How Do I Know If My Child Needs Therapy?
You and your child may benefit from therapy if they experience any of the following:
-tantrums
-long bouts of crying
-inflexibility
-oppositional behavior
-biting
-kicking
-mood swings
-lying
-anxiety
-poor school performance
-nightmares
-stealing
Or other behaviors that may worry you.
Children’s Therapy Focuses On Communication
To put it simply, children and adults communicate their needs and problems differently. Makes sense, right?
We (tend) to use language to communicate our problems. This is why adult therapy is primarily talk therapy. We have access to these tools where children, in general, do not.
Our kiddos are still developing this part of their brain. So, it makes sense to work within their developmental abilities! Where adults speak, kids play and explore.
Through play therapy kids can learn so many life skills. Let’s face it, adults in play therapy can as well! But that’s another discussion. For now, we will talk about our kiddos.
Children’s Therapy Is Family Therapy
Any time we talk about children’s therapy we have to talk about family therapy. Helping a child thrive begins with you, the parents! So therapy is focused primarily on attachment and communication between you and your child.
This is important because I as the therapist can’t be available to you 24/7. The skills we learn and develop in therapy must be replicated in the home for them to work long term. So as the parent, I will work with you to empower you to help your child independently.
Having your child see a therapist ongoing is absolutely a great idea, as well! Each child is different, so each child gets a unique treatment plan based on what their needs are.
Maybe your child needs intensive intervention because of big feelings they have. They may also have behaviors that make life difficult for you and your family.
Also, they may have experienced trauma, which requires a highly specialized type of treatment. I talk more about that here.
It is also possible that things are going really well! You may want your child to have a constant person they can go to and grow with therapeutically when things at home become difficult. This is a highly ideal situation. I would even argue that seeing somebody for therapy preventatively is a great way to prevent the need for intensive therapy in the future!
What is Children’s Therapy Like?
We begin children’s therapy just like adult therapy. You and I will meet independently for the first 2-3 session and discuss how things are at home. I will run a full assessment and we will both decide what the needs are.
Once we have identified the needs, we will make a treatment plan and begin treatment. This is the point where I will meet with the kiddo and begin our therapeutic journey!
I’m a big believer in creating the safest space for kiddos that come and see me. So, if you or your child have special requests in therapy make sure to let me know! My collection of toys can only get cooler if you and your child weigh in!
How Do I Go About Getting My Child In Therapy?
Luckily, it’s never been easier! If you are wanting to explore therapy with me, feel free to reach out to me using my contact form. You can also directly email or call me using the information at the top of this page in the blue bar.
If you would like to explore an outside therapist, psychology today is a great tool for filtering therapists down based on specialty, insurance, location, and anything else that may be important to you.
The truth is that every parent and kiddo can benefit from therapy of some kind. Recognizing this is so important to begin or continue fostering healthier coping strategies, relationships, and environment for you and your family. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!