Is Your Child’s Emotional Pain Causing Problems At Home And School?

Is your child or teen struggling with behavioral issues that disrupt your family’s dynamic? Do you suspect that recent life changes or a traumatic experience may be contributing to their emotional pain? If your child is anxious or depressed, do you feel out of your depth, unable to provide them with the support they need?

If your younger child is struggling emotionally, it can affect their behavior. Perhaps they have frequent tantrums, suffer from separation anxiety, or experience trouble sleeping due to nightmares. Unable to express what they’re feeling, instead they may complain about headaches, stomachaches, or tell you they are sick to avoid going to school.

Life Transitions May Be Contributing To Your Child’s Distress

Maybe a life transition—such as school disruptions due to the pandemic, moving to a new place, a blended family, or the aftermath of divorce—has negatively impacted them. Or perhaps you suspect that unresolved trauma or grief may be at the root of their distress. You may worry that their self-esteem, academic performance, peer relationships, and core beliefs about themselves have been permanently affected.

When your child is in emotional pain, it can be overwhelming and scary. Not knowing how best to help them can make you feel inadequate as a parent or cause friction with your partner. Understandably, you’re frustrated if what you’ve tried hasn’t worked.

The good news is therapy can help your child learn healthier ways to express themselves and regulate their emotions. Modalities such as child-centered play therapy have been adapted specifically for children to ensure they will benefit from counseling.

Children Experience Grief And Loss, Too

We all go through grief and loss—it’s a myth that children experience these intense feelings any less than we do. When a child experiences the loss of a loved one—a pet, family member, or friend—they go through the same stages of grief as adults even though they may display their emotions differently.

Additionally, a change in routine—such as a new school or living situation—can affect children deeply, leading to separation anxiety or depression. We often think because they’re younger, kids will bounce back faster than adults, but this isn’t always true. Our children are sensitive to the world that surrounds them, both the good and the bad.

We Can’t Always Safeguard Our Children From Negative Influences

In today’s culture, our children are exposed to unhealthy influences that, as parents, we struggle to work against. Because kids spend most of their waking hours away from us—at school, on social media, or with their peer group—they are exposed to potentially harmful things we cannot always control. One example is that in recent years, social media, movies, and TV shows have glamorized self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicide. Without proper intervention, our children can end up feeling alone, confused, and afraid.

If we rely on our schools to provide mental health support for our children, they likely won’t receive adequate help. Sadly, public schools are woefully underfunded in mental health resources. Therefore, it becomes our responsibility to seek help for our kids. Initially, we may mistakenly try to “diagnose” our children by searching websites or social media apps. Although we do this with good intentions, a diagnosis that isn’t vetted by a mental health professional can do more harm than good.

Fortunately, reaching out for help doesn’t have to be daunting. Therapy for children can help you navigate the behavioral issues that are affecting your child by offering compassionate and unbiased family counseling.

Therapy Can Help Your Child Navigate Their Emotions

When children experience grief, trauma, or loss, they might have difficulty processing their emotions and could benefit from counseling. Your child will be paired with a counselor attuned to observing their behavior and listening to their concerns. With a welcoming environment that includes toys, games, puzzles, art, music, and sometimes pets, a therapist can put your child at ease so real progress can be made.

In therapy, your child will learn to recognize and understand their emotions while learning how to better regulate them. We help them accept and normalize feelings of anger, sadness, depression, or grief so that they can find useful and safe ways of expressing their emotions. Working in a safe and supportive environment, your child will learn to love themselves as well as others.

What To Expect In Sessions

If your child is under 18, you will be asked to join the first session to help us get an idea of what is going on from both perspectives. We will determine what goals you are hoping to achieve and develop a treatment plan according to your specific needs, guiding you to select realistic objectives that will most benefit your child.

Because the issues your child is experiencing do not happen in a vacuum, your therapist will want to work with all members of the family if possible. Although an older child or teen may prefer to attend therapy alone, with their permission, the counselor will provide you with a debriefing at the end of sessions. We don’t have a cookie-cutter approach—the course of therapy will depend on what your child or adolescent needs as well as what your goals are.

Play Therapy And Other Modalities We Use

Our child behavior specialists are experienced in therapeutic models such as Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), as well as Grief, Integrative, and Holistic Therapy.

Therapy that incorporates play—in the form of toys, games, art, and sand trays—helps the therapist address the emotional and social concerns your child is experiencing. During Play Therapy, your child will learn how to understand and identify their feelings and be allowed to express them within a safe environment. By observing their behavior, the therapist will be able to communicate with your child through the language of play and teach them self-regulation and problem-solving skills.

In addition, we may also draw upon other mindfulness activities, games, or therapies—such as emotional regulation or anger management techniques—that will be shared with parents so they can be utilized and reinforced at home. We have found that modeling parenting skills within the session and then encouraging you to practice them at home yields the best results.

With your commitment to supporting what is learned in therapy, your child can become more in control of their emotions and confident that their voice will be heard without the need for tantrums or bad behavior. Obtaining therapy for your child can help them become happier, healthier, and more well-adjusted adults.

But You May Wonder Whether Therapy Is Right For Your Child …

I’m afraid that if I take my child to therapy, I will be judged.

A common fear about therapy is that by admitting you need help, you open yourself up to judgment or criticism. However, at ICS, we pride ourselves on being a person-centered practice where every client is welcomed into a non-judgmental environment and accepted for who they are. And if you are concerned about anyone finding out you have taken your child to a counselor, therapy is always kept confidential—only people you tell will know about it. After all, there is no shame in getting help because every family needs it sometimes.

Can we afford child counseling sessions?

As much as you think therapy could benefit your child, the cost might be a concern. The good news is we offer lower-income, uninsured clients the opportunity to attend therapy for a smaller cash fee by offering interns who are supervised by an independently licensed clinician. Additionally, our intake coordinators are happy to check your benefits and out-of-pocket expenses prior to your first appointment.

What if a therapist can’t help my child?

We understand you may be worried that child counseling won't work, but we encourage you to at least give therapy a chance. At a minimum, you will receive additional support for your child, perhaps for the first time. And although counseling can be challenging, the progress made can be beneficial to your child and family in the long term. We will work alongside your family to help with issues you may have thought would never change. Providing families with hope is our job and we are happy to do it.

It's Okay To Admit Your Child Could Use Some Help

When everything you’ve tried hasn’t worked, finding compassionate support for your child is the best thing you can do as a parent. If you would like to find out more about child therapy, you may 513-770-1705 or visit our contact page.