Child Counseling
Are You The Parent Of A Child Who Is Having A Tough Time?
It’s hard for people to understand how distressing it is for a parent to watch their child struggling or suffering and not be able to make sense of what is going on or how to help. There are no words that adequately describe what it’s like to have poured yourself into your child as you imagine a bright future for them, but to feel completely helpless to prevent those dreams from slipping away. The first thing you should know is that help is available. Mental health problems in children in most instances have an identifiable cause, and working together with a caring mental health professional can help both bring that cause to light and reveal a path forward so you can regain hope.
Maybe you have a child who is having difficulty controlling their emotions. Do they regularly seem anxious, sad, angry, lonely, withdrawn, or just not quite themselves? Have you noticed any of the following issues:
· Frightening or unusually intense emotional outbursts?
· Social withdrawal?
· Uncontrolled worry or anxiety?
Perhaps they’ve been having problems at school or experiencing ongoing relationship issues with family, friends, or peers. Or maybe they’ve been coping with something more specific, such as depression, anxiety, grief, abuse, or trauma. And, like any caring parent, seeing your child go through difficult emotions is likely taking a toll on you as well.
Counseling Can Offer Children Some Much-Needed Support
Your child may be experiencing a lot of negative thoughts or feelings that they’re struggling to resolve and no amount of reassurance you are offering appears to help. They may be having difficulty waking up or falling asleep (including issues with nightmares), trouble eating, or other physical symptoms such as headaches or stomach issues. Or they may just seem distant or unhappy lately and you’re not quite sure why.
As a parent, you may understandably feel helpless and shut out from your child—and unsure how to help them as they’re going through a tough time. Perhaps this has further contributed to issues within the larger family dynamic or with your partner or other children. The good news, though, is that you and your child have external support, and therapy can help them build the coping skills they need to feel more at ease with themselves and in the world.
Kids Struggle Mentally And Emotionally Just Like Adults Do
Often, the mental and emotional issues that children face are taken less seriously than adult problems. But, as any parent knows, children have a rich emotional life with so many of the same challenges as adults, yet with far less life experience to guide them. This leaves so many children with mental health issues who need outside help and support.
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “one in seven children ages 3 to 17 had a current, diagnosed mental or behavioral health condition” (1). The number is even higher, of course, when considering those who have received no mental health treatment, which makes counseling a vital resource for helping kids navigate life’s issues.
Children Don’t Yet Have The Resources To Cope On Their Own
Young people also contend with a lot of unique challenges, including immense peer and societal pressures that can cause intense feelings of inadequacy. They often feel the need to be perfect, believing it will lead to greater acceptance by those around them.
On top of this, many children (like many adults) are still emotionally recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. They missed out on important social interaction and life milestones, which has led to increased social and emotional issues in school and at home.
And even though you do everything that you can to love and support your child, they could still benefit from additional support through counseling. We consider it a team effort to get your child to a better emotional place, and therapy with Goldfinch Counseling can help your them build the ability to navigate life’s challenges with peace and confidence.
Therapy Can Help Your Child Grow Into The Best Version Of Themselves
Life can prove difficult enough that even most adults struggle and seek outside help sometimes. For children, the need for mental and emotional support is even more crucial, since they are actively learning how to feel, express, and cope with their own emotions.
Child therapy can offer a treatment method for issues as diverse as depression, anxiety, grief, OCD, and PTSD—or it can be used simply to build greater emotional intelligence for the future. Therapy can help you and your child learn coping tools to help manage symptoms while building self-awareness and self-esteem to carry with them forward through their life.
An Eclectic, Progressive Approach To Child Therapy
Your child counselor will incorporate multiple treatment methods, including:
· Mindfulness Therapy – Including yoga, grounding, play, art, and music therapy, journaling, and other mindfulness techniques, Mindfulness Therapy can help children neutralize and manage the difficult emotions they are feeling.
· Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – An evidence-based form of therapy, CBT can help children identify and reframe negative thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.
· Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) – An effective modality for the treatment of trauma, ERP can help children develop healthier emotional responses to their fears and triggers.
The combination of these modalities will depend on your child’s specific needs, and we use a holistic treatment lens. Together, we will work to learn what is causing their issues, as well as understand their triggers and reactions. And we will identify their short- and long-term goals for change, as well as your own goals for them.
Remember: Your child is not alone in their struggles; they are far from it. They have you, and the rest of their family and friends—and they also have the support of empathetic mental health professionals like us. Together we can help them get to a healthier, more well-adjusted place so they can build the very best future for themselves.
You May Still Have Some Questions Or Concerns About Child Therapy…
I’m concerned about confidentiality and my ability to keep therapy private.
Our goal is to work with both you and your child simultaneously. We want to involve you, the parents, in the process since, at some point, you will be continuing to work with your child. And we want you to be involved so you can better understand why your child is struggling and how to help—we are partners in this work.
I don’t have enough time for us to be able to attend child therapy sessions.
We offer flexible scheduling (including in the evenings) and offer both in-person and telehealth sessions for your convenience. But the work spent in therapy can actually save you time in terms of the overall well-being and functioning of your child.
I’m concerned that it will take a long time for therapy to make a difference.
Improvement can happen fairly quickly with children as we begin to understand the underlying causes of their distress and teach them tools to help them manage their emotions. Involving those in their lives, like their parents and family members, can help accelerate the process of change so can see results actually happen sooner.
Your Child Can Be In A Happier, Healthier State Of Mind
If you are the parent of a child who is struggling with difficult emotions, therapy with Goldfinch Counseling can help them build coping mechanisms so they can thrive.
To set up a complimentary, 15-minute phone consultation, call or text us at (551) 282-9967 or use our contact page to get started.
Have a question about our child therapy services?
Send us an inquiry using this contact form and we will get back to you right away.
