Child Therapy
Is Your Child Having Trouble With Expressing Their Emotions?
Does your child experience difficulty communicating their feelings? When they’re angry or sad, do they fight, scream, or throw temper tantrums? Do you find it challenging to figure out ways to ease their mind and support them through their trying times?
Perhaps your child struggles to manage their emotions or verbally express what’s bothering them. And since every child is different, their reactions to less than ideal circumstances could vary from being loud and destructive to isolating themselves from their friends and loved ones.
You May Feel Like You’ve Tried Everything To Help Your Child
It may seem like no matter what you try, you still can’t get your child to improve their behavior. It’s frustrating when they won’t listen, follow simple directions, or stop with the meltdowns and/or physical aggression when things don’t go their way.
Deep down, you only wish your child the utmost happiness and success in everything that they do. And as a parent, it probably pains you to see them struggling, especially if you can’t figure out how to solve their issues on your own.
This is why speaking to a child therapist at Winding Roads Counseling is an important step in the right direction. Our team aims to help you shoulder some of the weight when it comes to helping your child succeed, giving you added support so that you don’t have to feel alone in providing them what they need to grow and thrive.
As Parents, We Want Our Children To Feel Validated
Parenting is one of the most challenging jobs that we will ever face. And while there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to raising a child, the healthy dynamics of your relationship with them are vital for you both to grow and thrive.
As a parent, you may try everything in your power to make your child feel safe and loved. But the crazy world we live in could negatively impact their experience, especially if they suffer from symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, or ADHD.
Children are like sponges, constantly absorbing information from those around them. And while every child is different when it comes to what they need to succeed in life, most children want to be viewed as “good kids.” They usually flourish when they are validated for succeeding in the eyes of their parents, caretakers, and/or the people that they look up to.
But not all kids receive this message loud and clear, which could lead to them requiring constant redirection, struggling to maintain healthy relationships, and feeling a low sense of self-worth. Therapy at Winding Roads Counseling aims to validate your child’s emotions and encourage them to speak out and express how they feel so that they know without a shadow of doubt that their thoughts and feelings matter.
Counseling Can Set Your Child Up For Success
No matter what it takes, children feel the need to be seen and heard—which is why therapy is so important. It offers your child a safe space to openly and honestly explore their emotions so that they can learn how to deal with the issues that they are facing.
And who knows? Your child will probably enjoy their experience. Children often like coming to therapy because it provides a place for them to have fun and learn new ways to feel better about themselves. Our therapists at Winding Roads Counseling specialize in providing children with skills to regulate their emotions by helping them learn acceptable behaviors for expressing themselves.
What To Expect In Child Therapy Sessions
We will begin with an intake session so that you—the parent, guardian, or caretaker—can help us get to know your child. This provides us with an opportunity to meet with you and your child so that you can express any thoughts or concerns that you may have going into the therapy process. We will then pair your child with one of our specialized counselors and figure out a treatment plan to best fit their needs.
The sessions following the intake are typically done individually between the therapist and your child. Although specific details regarding what was said in sessions will not be revealed, you will never be left in the dark when it comes to your child’s progress. We will keep you informed by updating you regularly about what they’ve been working on in therapy, and provide tools for you to help set them up for success moving forward.
In therapy at Winding Roads Counseling, we specialize in a variety of different therapeutic methods to help children of all backgrounds gain self-awareness and become more grounded with their emotions. These methods include:
● Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): beneficial for children who struggle with low self-worth and negative thoughts by providing tools to build a more positive outlook and challenging them to question their intrusive emotions and behavior
● Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): will give your child skills to help them better articulate their distress and gain awareness of how their feelings affect their actions and how their actions affect how other people feel
● Art and Play Therapy: can help your child by giving them a creative outlet to express themselves comfortably, openly, and honestly so that they can feel reassured about who they are and what they are going through
● Behavior Modification: utilizes your child’s experiences to teach them positive, reaffirming ways of responding to difficult scenarios
● Brainspotting & Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): helps children heal from painful emotions due to trauma by using imagery and eye movement to reprocess their feelings about distressing experiences
Our number one priority is getting your child the help that they deserve. Therapy for children will provide you with peace of mind in knowing that your child’s mental health is being nurtured. Whether you aim to build a stronger relationship with your child, help them become more attentive in following directions, or give them the support they need to regulate their emotions, our therapists will tailor treatment to best suit the goals that you all set.
You May Have Heard Good Things About Therapy For Children, But Still Some Have Questions…
As their parent, can I be present during my child’s therapy sessions?
Usually, we recommend that the parent be present at the initial intake to share information about the concerns they have for their children. But once we begin the therapy process, we strongly suggest that your child works alone in session with their therapist. This way, your child will feel a sense of confidentiality in a space where they can open up without any fear of being judged or frowned upon.
What will you be teaching my child?
Our counselors aim to work alongside your child to identify the underlying issues causing them to express themselves the way that they do. Once we identify their triggers, we will figure out why they feel the way that they do about certain situations and present them with a wide array of skills to help them cope with these feelings in a safe and healthy manner.
When will I know if therapy is actually helping my child?
Everyone develops and progresses differently. However, you should begin noticing a change in your child’s attitude and a reduction in undesirable behaviors after just a few therapy sessions.
While most of your child’s time in therapy is spent in one-on-one sessions with their counselor, we will also provide you with updates regarding their improvement, as well as tools and direction to maintain their progress outside of the counseling space.
Let Our Therapists At Winding Roads Counseling Help Your Child Thrive
To learn more about how therapy at Winding Roads Counseling can help your child—or to schedule a free, 15-minute consultation—call (317) 210–3737. You can also visit our contact page. We look forward to speaking with you!
