Therapy for Children — Building for Success

Do you see your child struggling with depression or anxiety? Is your child struggling at school or performing academically well below their potential? Is your child having difficulty making or keeping friends? Our team includes experts in therapy for children.

Give your children the support they need — and watch them flourish

When our children act out, misbehave in worrying ways, don’t function in school, or have difficulties socially, they are sending a message that they are in distress. Being alert to their needs is the first step in helping your child address their challenges. In therapy, we can identify the difficulties powering your child’s behavior and work to address their issues.

The wide-scale prevalence of depression, anxiety, and social challenges among children is an indicator of just how difficult childhood can be today. We expect our children to learn academic skills, thrive socially, play sports, learn an instrument, and be part of the family. When your child struggles, it’s time to step back and see what your child needs.

When your child needs counseling

Instead of viewing childhood depression, anxiety, or social issues as problematic, we instead choose to view them as opportunities to support our children to grow and develop into healthier, better-adjusted adults. The investment in therapy in childhood to address the issues that you, as a parent, have already identified can truly pay lifelong dividends. Your child can grow into a happy, thriving teenager and adult. Therapy for children is often life-changing.

Problems are also opportunities

Eastside Center for Healing

Parents can’t do it all on their own; therapy for children can help

We do not believe that any one parent can realistically be expected to meet all the practical, emotional, and social needs of each child on their own. There is a reason for the famous saying that it takes a village to raise a child! We don’t expect all parents to be able to teach their children arithmetic, swimming, painting, and computer programming.

Taking care of your child also means identifying where they need a bit of additional support and working to find the help that will most meet the needs of your child at the time. Sometimes your child needs some help in math and sometimes they need a swimming instructor. At other times, they may need the support of a professional trained in therapy for children.

Professional behavioral, emotional, and psychological support for your children

After you made the best decision for your child, which is to get them the professional psychological/mental health support they need, what’s next? When your child is in therapy, often the therapist and you — the parents — work together. The extent of your involvement often varies with age. In some cases, the sessions will be private with the therapist consulting with you from time to time. In other cases, you may be invited to sit in on sessions.

We know that therapy for children tends to be more effective when you, the parents, are involved. We look forward to collaborating with you and to seeing excellent results for your child and your family.

What happens in therapy?

Therapy for children can draw from a variety of techniques and methods. Your therapist will choose the approach that can help your child who is experiencing difficulties with thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

Children do not always have the words needed to describe their feelings. Understanding what your child is experiencing can be difficult for parents. Our counselors use play therapy techniques to help children express their inner world. Techniques may include playing with art supplies, clay, sand play, social stories, drawings, visualizations, puppets, dolls, and creative movement. Children can use these approaches to play out and express the feelings and experiences that they are unable to articulate in words.

   

More resources for parents considering therapy for children

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