Child Therapy
Do You Wish You Knew How To Support Your Child?
Is your child feeling lost and unable to cope with all the changes in their life? Do they struggle to communicate what they are feeling or experiencing? Maybe they resort to crying, fighting, or even hitting. Or perhaps they’re overly avoidant—when you ask them what’s wrong, they say: “Leave me alone” or “I don’t want to talk about it.” They may suffer from bullying or feeling unaccepted by their peers, which leads to a lack of self-esteem and confidence in who they are.
Your child’s struggles may stem from academics, their home life, or their peer group. They will try to navigate these problems the best way they can, but since they are so young, their ability to problem-solve is limited. After all, they’re at a time of life where they’re just starting to discover themselves. As exciting as it can be, it can also feel scary. Uncertainty about whether or not they’ll fit in or do well in school can put undue stress on their lives.
At the moment, you may ask yourself: Why can’t my child just have a healthy, normal childhood? Why do I have to worry about them all the time? If this is the case, I can assure you that you are not alone—and you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting alone. Here at The Davis Group, we want to help your child learn to problem-solve more effectively, communicate their feelings, and enrich their relationships with others.
Children Often Struggle To See Outside Of Their Own Perspective
All children need additional help understanding their thoughts and feelings. Because they are at such an early stage of development, it’s hard for them to recognize that their perspective is limited. When they get into a negative headspace, they often mistake their mindset for fact and come to believe that they have no power to change it.
To make matters worse, kids in today’s world face an unhealthy amount of pressure to fit in and succeed academically. This pressure often reaches the parents, who worry that their children can’t keep up with other people’s kids. If their children misbehave or don’t respond to stressors in a healthy way, parents may face judgment from others for their parenting—as if the child’s struggles represent a failure on the parent’s part.
In reality, however, your child’s struggles are neither their fault nor yours. They simply don’t know that there are many different ways to handle difficult thoughts and feelings. This is why child therapy is so vital. It’s a chance for children to learn how to articulate their emotions rather than fall back on instinctive reactions like yelling or fighting. What’s more, it’s an opportunity for both you and your child to strengthen the loving connection between you.
Therapy Can Help Your Child Improve Their Emotional Literacy And Communication Skills
For most kids, talking to grown-ups means being told how to behave. Child counseling is just the opposite. We provide a safe, nonjudgmental space where your child is free to be themselves without any pressure to act a certain way.
Our sessions are not free from work, but they are laidback and fun—we offer a combination of art therapy, play therapy, and talk therapy to help kids explore their thoughts and feelings. If your child likes to express themselves through drawing, painting, or playing with toys, they are welcome to do so during sessions.
In the beginning, we will generally meet with you and your child together to set goals, review our structure, and go over confidentiality policies. If you’d like, however, it is possible to have a one-on-one session with us first. And although ordinary sessions will be conducted with your child alone, you are welcome to have a parenting session from time to time in addition to session debriefs. Parent participation is vital and we want to keep the family in the loop on what is happening in real time.
One of our biggest priorities is helping your child enhance their emotional literacy so that they can identify their emotions and communicate more effectively. Our hope is that they will be able to tell the difference between their emotional states—e.g., knowing whether to say “I’m feeling a little sad” or “I’m feeling very sad.” We want to help your young one learn to pause, step back, and recognize their emotions in the heat of the moment. This will prevent them from reacting negatively and enable them to regulate the emotions that make them lose control.
Additionally, we want to help your child build genuine trust and communication in their relationships. As much as we want them to learn how to solve problems on their own, it’s important that they have access to their support system and resources when they need them. On one hand, we aim to help them handle their struggles with greater confidence; on the other, we aim to reduce their fear of utilizing support and asking for help.
What’s more, we believe that there is no greater support in your child’s life than you. We want you to be someone who can empathize with them, validate their struggles, and be their support system. As tempting as it may be to tell your child “You’re fine,” or, “I went through the same thing at your age,” it’s important to remember that your child needs validation in order for your relationship with them to grow. Our practice seeks to help you connect with your child through PACE, which stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy. By combining these four elements in your relationship with your child, we believe that you can strengthen your loving bond for years to come.
Child therapy is like organizing a messy room. Even after the room is fully organized, you may buy new items that force you to re-organize. In the same way, your child’s journey is never complete. There will always be new hurdles and challenges for your child to overcome, but we are confident that we can equip them with the coping strategies and communication skills that they need to thrive.
You may have some questions about kids counseling…
Am I required to be involved in my child’s sessions?
It is certainly best practice for you to be involved in your child’s healing process. You are welcome to participate in an occasional parent-only session if you’d like, or even a joint session with your child if they are okay with it. But ultimately, it’s important to remember that everything your child tells us is confidential unless they specifically state otherwise. After all, in order for your child to process and resolve the issues in their life, they need to be able to speak without any fear of their privacy being compromised.
Will my child need therapy for a long time?
Once your child has the confidence and skills to manage problems on their own, we can either discontinue sessions or adjust our schedule accordingly. After all, the goal is for your child to get to a place where they don’t need us anymore. But at the same time, we want to be here for your child no matter what. That’s why booster sessions are available in case your child wants to return to therapy to deal with new challenges in their life.
Can you provide counseling for several of my children?
Yes, we offer therapy for siblings and families if it is requested. Having multiple members of the family involved in counseling can make it easier to solve communication issues since everyone can work through them together. However, if you have multiple children seeking individual counseling, we strongly recommend that they see different therapists. This prevents any conflict of interest from arising between your kids over what they are told in therapy.
