Child Therapy
Therapy can help your child feel happy again.
Therapy for Kids
Changes in your child’s personality can be distressing for parents, especially when kids don’t have the tools to tell you what’s happening. Being certain of the best way to address your child’s emotional changes can be difficult. Perhaps they come home angry, slamming doors and withdrawing from friends and family. Or maybe they lash out at siblings or resort to violence when upset.
You might feel overwhelmed and wonder whether something deeper is going on, especially when your advice to breathe and count to 10 is insufficient. In these situations, you might consider seeking children’s therapy services. Professionals can help children open up, uncover the scope of the problem and support them in developing healthy coping mechanisms. Having a trusted counselor to talk with can help your child feel better whether they’re dealing with anger, anxiety, depression or something else. Continue reading to learn how kids counseling can help your child gain a better sense of well-being.
What’s Going on With Your Child?
It can be tricky to identify emotional problems with your child and even more difficult for kids to understand the source of their frustrations. Therapy services for children can address mental health issues with compassion and open-mindedness. Professionals can meet your child where they are in their present struggles, giving them a comfortable space to discuss their feelings.
If your child has been hurting alone for a long time and doesn’t fully understand what’s happening, they may retreat within themselves, shutting out much of the world to try to gain some comfort. Sometimes, they can’t put their finger on the hurt like they could if they needed a band-aid. This makes them so frustrated — and even more frustrated that they cannot express their pain to their parents. They may be used to getting a hug and feeling better after that. But when nothing can soothe the pain, it may be time to consider child counseling.
Signs Your Child May Need Kids Therapy
Without the vocabulary, self-reflection and insight that we have as adults, it’s difficult for children to tell us what’s going on inside. So, they may seem one way on the surface, but there are many underlying reasons for their feelings and actions.
A few signs you may need a therapist for your child include:
Causes of Childhood Depression and Anxiety
Childhood depression and anxiety can stem from several factors, like a mood disorder, but that’s not the only cause.
The following risk factors can influence a child’s chances of developing mental health issues:
- Physical health: Chronic physical issues can increase the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms in kids.
- Environment: A chaotic home life can put a child at greater risk for a mood disorder like anxiety or depression. Children are also experiencing situations like peer pressure, bullying and rejection at school for the first time. It can be challenging for a child to handle and understand the reasons for rejection or disappointment.
- Family history: Children with family members who have mood disorders may be more likely to develop depression in childhood.
- Biochemical imbalances: Neurotransmitter levels can influence the risk for depression or anxiety symptoms. Serotonin affects mood, while dopamine impacts motivation, so an imbalance of those or other chemicals can cause mood disorders or symptoms.
- Stressful events: Sudden changes at home, school or in friend groups can increase a child’s risk for depressive symptoms.
Sometimes, you may think your child could have witnessed or experienced something at home when, in reality, it happened elsewhere or gradually, without you realizing something was the matter. You think you should have the answers to fix the problem, and when you don’t, it can feel like you’ve failed at parenting.
This is far from the truth. Sometimes, several issues are at play, affecting your child’s happiness. In these cases, you’ll need specialized children’s therapy services to get to the root of the problem and help your child thrive.
How Child Therapy Services Can Help
It can be difficult for kids to open up initially, but that’s OK. At Courageous Kids Counseling, we understand the importance of patience, building a trusting relationship and allowing your child to speak when they feel comfortable doing so. Throughout child therapy services, we reassure your child that they are in good hands. While talking to a “stranger,” reassuring them that they are in a safe place is essential so kids feel comfortable.
We might try a few methods to help your child open up and work through their issues:
CBT focuses on how thoughts and emotions affect behavior. These sessions involve agreed-upon goals to replace negative thought patterns with healthy, productive ones. Through role-playing and other methods, your child can learn new ways to handle stressful situations.
DBT works by combining mindfulness and CBT. This way, your child can learn how to understand and accept difficult emotions. DBT is often used to address borderline personality disorder, though it can help with other mental health concerns.
Through biofeedback kids counseling, children are taught ways to relax the body and control otherwise uncontrollable body functions. This therapy can help them with the physical symptoms of anxiety and depression, such as body tension, restlessness, rapid heartbeat and nausea.
EMDR can treat children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, dissociation, self-regulation and attachment issues.
Sometimes, the best way to get to the root of the problem is to tell stories and ask if the situations match their experience. If kids tell us that we’re off, we can ask for a hint to get them to open up more. Character development, imaginative or pretend play, storytelling or drawing are great ways to give your child distance from their feelings and helps them share in a positive way.
Benefits of Therapy for Kids
Kids counseling can have immense benefits for your child, including:
- Earn praise and support: Professionals will monitor your child’s progress and encourage them to meet goals and find their strengths. At Courageous Kids Counseling, we provide recognition every step of the way as your child learns to overcome challenges and solve problems.
- Learn communication skills: Your child will learn how to communicate better. Right now, they may not have the vocabulary or the understanding of what’s going on, but, as suggested, children are like sponges, eager to learn and soak up new information. Teaching them the right words and explaining how their thoughts and feelings affect their behavior can be encouraging.
- Process emotions: Therapy services for children help them understand and process their emotions so they can perform better. We will work together to unpack big feelings and use tools to face these pitfalls. Specifically, we can help them manage sadness, anger, stress, worry, low self-esteem and grief.
- Develop healthy coping skills: Your child will discover how to manage strong feelings and gain perspective for future situations when attending children’s therapy. We’ll help your child practice what they learn. We might play games or teach them to wait their turn, practice self-control, follow directions, be patient and listen better.
- Learn from mistakes: Just like falling off a bike hurts, emotional challenges can be just as tricky. You want your child to get back up and learn from mistakes after they experience setbacks. For teenagers and older kids, therapy could involve discussing problems they have at home and at school. Therapists will then talk with your child about how to solve those issues.
- Know when to ask for help: Your child will learn to come to you, the parent, for support when obstacles are too big to handle. More importantly, they will be able to manage their feelings better.
Meet Our Team
Erica Smuckler
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Owner & Clinical Director
Specializing In
TraumaDepressionAnxiety
How to Make the Most of Therapy for Kids
Counseling for children is a powerful tool for growth and healing that’s most effective when parents are involved. Participation doesn’t mean you have to be in the sessions, although you can look into family therapy as an additional resource. You can support your child’s therapy by creating a supportive environment outside of sessions. Here are some ways to help your child get the most out of their therapy journey.
Communicate Openly and Create Comfort
Normalizing therapy in your household will help reassure your child. If you or other family members are in therapy, mention that to address any shame or fear. Focus on representing therapy as a positive addition to your child’s life that is there to help them feel better.
Let your child know they can speak to you about anything, and practice active listening, so your child feels heard and understood at home. Additionally, let them know you respect their privacy if there are things they do not want to share with you. If they attend online therapy for kids, create a comfortable, private space for them to have their sessions at home.
Help Practice Techniques and Reinforce Skills
Counseling for kids includes teaching positive coping strategies and techniques and finding ways to help your child apply valuable skills in their everyday life. Practicing mindfulness exercises or problem-solving techniques will begin to deliver success. The more you are aware of these techniques and encourage and praise them, the easier it will be for your child to develop. Celebrate small victories and acknowledge their efforts.
Collaborate With the Therapist and Others
Before your child starts therapy, prepare some questions for your child’s therapist so you can make certain you’re on the same page. In-person and online therapy for kids is most effective when it’s a team effort. The involvement of key players like school teachers, school counselors, coaches, principals, community leaders, caregivers and other family members can create a consistent and supportive network. This will help reinforce the skills and strategies learned in therapy.
If you’re looking for a child therapist in New York who understands the importance of teamwork, the Courageous Kids Counseling team members are here to help. We utilize evidence-based therapy approaches, prioritize personalized treatment and work with parents while also protecting confidentiality.
What Our Clients Are Saying
Book a Complimentary Call Now
We know it’s upsetting to see your child struggling and not know what’s wrong. You’re not alone. Lots of parents feel like you do. You don’t need to have all the answers — you’re already taking the proper steps to find them. Your child has so many wonderful growing years ahead. You will get through this. Looking back, you will reminisce about all the happy memories your child had and how much they’ve grown into the person you’ve helped create. Bumps in the road happen — but together, we can help your child discover how to become the best version of themselves.
If you need a child therapist in New York, book a complimentary call with Courageous Kids Counseling. We are a specialized children’s therapy practice focusing on helping children struggling with anxiety, depression and trauma, among other difficulties. We use CBT, EMDR, play therapy, behavioral therapy, DBT, biofeedback and other problem-solving approaches.
