"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too" - Dr. Seuss
Child & Adolescent Therapy
The world can be quite a daunting and overwhelming place for many people, but especially more so for children and adolescents. All children and adolescents struggle with emotional ups and downs, family conflict, trouble with friends and dips in academic performance. These normal developmental challenges can require children and adolescents to change their perspective or learn new skills. There are times when these normal difficulties become more intense and can cause children and adolescents to struggle with developing or learning new coping mechanisms. As a parent, it can be difficult to see a child or adolescent struggle with navigating these obstacles and even more difficult to determine if a child or adolescent needs to professional services.
Areas that can be concerning:
- Has difficulties in multiple areas of daily functioning, such as family relationships, academic performance, leisure activities and friendships
- Excessive worry/fear about various aspects of their lives
- Starts to show signs of low self-confidence and self-esteem
- Withdraws from family, friends and activities that he/she used to find pleasure in
- Expresses hopelessness and lack of motivation
- Has a significant change in sleeping and eating habits
- Talks about or engages in any kind of self-harm
Parents know their child or adolescent the best. If a parent believes there is an obvious change in their child’s behavior and emotional functioning, then that is always a strong indicator that outside help may be needed.
What to Expect During the Therapeutic Process
During the initial intake, parents meet with the therapist in order to obtain an understanding of the current situation as well as gather background and developmental history. Afterwards, the therapist will meet separately with the child or adolescent and determine what strategies will be most beneficial.
It is hard to predict how long a child or adolescent will need to speak with a therapist. First and foremost, the therapist works to build a supportive and nurturing environment where the child or adolescent feels safe and comfortable enough to share his/her feelings. Only then, can the therapist work to help the child or adolescent build up his/her self-confidence and teach various strategies/coping mechanisms to help them manage the feelings they are struggling with.