Child Counseling Services

Our therapists will work one-on-one with your child. However, we also know how important it is to engage the whole family, so some sessions will involve parents and, when appropriate, other family members. By working with your child or teen in sessions, you can practice important skills to continue offering support and building a healthy relationship at home.

• The initial session is a parent intake session where we learn about your concerns regarding your child. 
• The next 3-5 sessions are conducted with your child directly. Your child’s therapist will create a warm, safe environment so your child can build a sense of trust and feel comfortable talking about his or her thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Because so many children don’t quite know how to identify or talk about their emotions, your therapist will utilize a variety of age-appropriate approaches that are specifically tailored to child life counseling, such as play therapy and art therapy.

Toys and objects can help children focus, interact with others and express many of the thoughts and feelings that they don’t know how to put into words.

• After 3-5 sessions, we will either involve you in a parent-child session together or schedule a follow up parent session/conversation. 

At any point if you'd like to discuss your child's progress in therapy, we can schedule a brief conversation or a lengthier therapy session. 

Family involvement

Sometimes, we might also ask other family members, such as a sibling or close guardian, to join as well. Familial involvement is essential to your child’s long-term wellbeing, and it is very important to reinforce what he or she has learned in therapy at home.

Marriage and family therapy may also be helpful as disruptive behaviors or mental health issues can put a strain on all family members.

We work with children aged 2 and older, including families with adult children, children with special needs, and children with developmental disabilities.

Even though it may feel painful, we encourage you to bring your child anyway, despite his or her protests. If your child seems disruptive, sullen, angry or changed in some other way, it’s important to get him or her help sooner rather than later.

And, your child is likely to start enjoying therapy after the first few sessions with their child counselor. Therapy can be a comforting, fun place for him or her to try new things and begin to feel better.

• Seeking help is nothing to be ashamed of. Many, if not most, parents have felt helpless and powerless at times, and no one has all of the answers.

  Through years of research and learning in child psychology, therapists have developed particular modes of therapy to help children. If your child broke his or her arm, no one would expect you to know how to mend it – you would bring your child to a doctor.

  Similarly, if you are concerned about your child or feel overwhelmed by a specific issue, it makes sense to see a child counselor who is trained in behavioral therapy and child psychology for children and adolescents and can offer your son or daughter individualized, effective care.

  Child and adolescent counselors learn specialized types of therapies to treat children.

• Yes, there are several effective types of therapy that work for children online. 

  Your therapist will meet with the parent first in a video session. In following sessions they may guide the parent through techniques such as parent-child play therapy.

  Participating in child therapy in the comfort of their own home might allow the therapist to see behaviors that are only happening at home. This can speed up the assessment process and help pinpoint target behaviors. 

  Online therapy may be less effective for children under the age of ten. For young children, working with parents online is the most effective intervention. Parents can learn effective positive parenting skills that can change a child's behavior. 

  Child-parent relational therapy can help parents create deeper emotional bonds with their children. Greater emotional connection improves a child's mood and behavior and lead to positive outcomes for the child.