How Can Therapy Help Your Child

Ever wondered how therapy can help your child? Ever wondered about its benefits? Ever thought about what to look out for? You are not alone. Many people have wondered if therapy is the right choice for them or their children. Therapy has been an effective method for a lot of people to address a variety of mental health and behavioral issues. In this post, we will discuss problems addressed in therapy, how therapy works, and the process of therapy.

Therapy is a type of treatment that can help people identify and change unhealthy thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Therapy is done by a trained professional who takes a non-judgmental approach in a supportive, confidential environment. Many parents would like to help their children and teens to improve how they think, feel, act, and learn. In therapy, kids will talk and learn how to work out their problems, cope better, communicate more, and act in a more positive light.

Problems Therapists May Help With

Therapists are trained to help children with different kinds of problems. These problems may include:

1. Family problems: Children may have difficulties coping with family issues such as separation/divorce, issues among siblings, and family conflict.

2. School problems: Children may experience problems at school such as bullying, concentration, and problems with authority figures.

3. Anger: Like adults, children may experience anger and it may be displayed through temper tantrums, fighting, and cursing.

4. Self-esteem: Children may have difficulty with their confidence level which can be displayed through shyness or low social skills. Some children may not feel good about themselves and may not feel accepted by others.

5. Grief/loss: Children may have difficulty expressing feelings after losing someone or something significant.

6. Depression: It is normal for children to feel sad, but when they go through prolonged periods of sadness, it leads to depression, making it difficult to engage in activities they enjoyed in the past.

7. Anxiety: Children may feel afraid or worried at times and may need help to talk about these feelings.

8. Trauma: Many children go through trauma, which is considered to be any event that is deeply upsetting, harmful, or scary such as abuse, violence, accidents, or natural disasters.

How Does Therapy Work?

Children learn by doing. Therapists work with children to build healthy behavioral habits and positive thinking patterns. With the younger children, therapists work with the children and parents while engaging in playing, drawing, and talking. With the older children, activities are geared towards learning the skills needed as they talk through feelings and solve problems. Therapists may meet with the child alone or meet with the parents and child together, depending on the age. A therapist may also provide psychoeducation on parenting and parenting tools that can be helpful for parents while the child is at home.

What to Expect During a Therapy Session

A therapist may want to first build a rapport with your child and then ask questions to learn more about your child and the problem. During these visits, the child may:

1. Talk: Your child may engage in talk therapy where they can express their thoughts and feelings. This gives them a safe space to share their thoughts and feelings while putting their feelings into words instead of acting out.

2. Do activities: The therapist may engage the child in different activities so that they can learn more about their feelings and coping skills to help them with the problem they are having. With these activities, the therapist will engage the child in play or art, such as drawing or playing games for them to learn how to even manage emotions.

3. Practice new skills: The therapist can help children practice what they need to learn by playing games to help with problems such as lacking self-control, being impatient, anger, and impulsiveness.

4. Solve problems: The therapist will explore how to solve problems, especially with older children and teenagers. They will learn how the problems may affect them at school and home and will learn the skills to solve their problems.

5. A good child therapist will also meet with the parents to provide ideas to help the child at home.

What Can You Do As A Parent

1. Find a therapist that you and your child are comfortable with.

2. Take your child to all of their appointments.

3. Meet with your child’s therapist and ask what can be done at home too to help your child.

4. Spend time with your child and engage in different activities together.

5. Practice patience with your child. Show love and give them praise when they are doing well or even trying

Ultimately, therapy is an effective way to get your child to process their experiences, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in a safe space with a trained professional. Therapy helps to identify areas of concern and gain insight into patterns. If you think your child can benefit from therapy, contact us. We are here to help get them back on track and meet their needs! It can get better.

For more tips, please check out our other tips here https://www.plantationcounseling.com/blog. You can always find us at 954-903-1676 for counseling services.