Child & Adolescent Therapy
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 develop social skills and emotional intelligence. This awareness helps them to develop into healthy, happy, and successful individuals. But some children have trouble processing their emotions and this often leads 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 he or she may find a combination of various treatments is the best approach.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps children and adolescents to identify harmful thought patterns and cognitive distortions. Once a child recognizes that their thoughts have a significant impact on their feelings and moods, they can learn to control themselves and their behavior. Research has shown that CBT is highly effective at treating depression and anxiety as well as wide range of other psychological problems. Trauma-Focused CBT helps children and teens deal with traumatic experiences.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT helps children and adolescents process their inner emotions. ACT provides context and understanding to emotions that can seem overwhelming. This allows kids to work through emotions and move forward.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is very effective for people who have difficulty managing and regulating their emotions, and/or suicidal and self-harming behaviors. DBT focuses on acceptance of the reality of life’s challenges, while also learning helpful ways of coping to create change. DBT focuses on four skills:
- Mindfulness, (being fully aware and focused in the present),
- Distress Tolerance (understanding and managing difficult emotions in stressful situations),
- Interpersonal Effectiveness (asking for what you want and need, setting boundaries and maintaining respect for others and self)
- Emotion Regulation(awareness and better control of one’s emotions)
Family Therapy
Family therapy is great for helping families improve communication so they can resolve issues. Sessions can include the entire family, including children, siblings, parents, and grandparents, or just one or two individuals.
Who is Therapy Right for?
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
- Performance Anxiety
- Depression
- Relationship breakup
- Eating Disorders
- Learning Disabilities
- ADHD
- Academic Struggles
Therapy is not a quick fix to a child’s behavioral or emotional issues. It is instead a thoughtful and comprehensive process that provides children with insights and skills so that they may become masters of their thoughts and feelings. This, in essence, is how children develop into happy, healthy, and successful adults.
If you would like to explore counseling options for your child, please give our office a call.