Children's Therapy: Professional Guidance Can Help
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Understanding child therapy
If you are considering child therapy for your child, it may be challenging to know where to start. There are many treatment modalities available, from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and trauma-focused therapy to sand tray therapy and play therapy for children. Children's therapy, or pediatric therapy, is a broad field. Each form of pediatric therapy offers unique benefits, and these essential services can assist children of all ages. You can find an overview of these types of support services for your child or teen below.
What exactly does children's therapy entail?
As with adults, there are times when children may benefit from a professional's therapeutic expertise. Children's behavioral therapists are trained in the specific developmental needs of children. In the same way therapists support adults, a children's therapist works with children to help them process and cope with challenges.
Children often express emotions differently than adults, and they may not yet be able to articulate their emotions effectively. Children’s therapists are trained to understand the unique needs of children. They may have specialized training for communicating with children in ways that are available to them. Many children’s therapists are trained in more than one treatment modality and might pull from various techniques to meet your child's unique needs.
Common reasons for considering children’s therapy
There are many reasons why a parent or caregiver may consider children's therapy for their child. Traumatic life events such as the death of someone close to the child, major health problems, divorce, and bullying are a few reasons you may seek therapy for your child. Often, if a child is experiencing problems in school, a teacher or school counselor may recommend that a family seek the support of a pediatric therapist.
Mental, developmental, and behavioral disorders
In addition, the CDC reports that among children aged two through eight years old, 17.4% have been diagnosed with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder. Over 50% of children ages three to 17 with behavioral disorders have received treatment, and nearly 80% of children with depression have received treatment. Children's therapy is a popular and often effective approach and can help remove mental health stigmas that your child may pick up later in life.
Common types of child therapy
Children’s therapy can take many forms depending on the therapist and the child's unique needs. Below are a few treatment options often utilized to support children, parents, and families.
Play counseling
Play therapy is a therapy for children that might use play, toys, and roleplay to help children articulate and express their emotions and inner thoughts. Play therapy is designed to work from a child's perspective. There are two main types of play therapy: directive play therapy and nondirective play therapy. Both types may help a child feel at ease and open up to the therapist. This type of children’s therapy offers physical occupational therapy that can help children reach their full potential and meet their goals.
Rather than having a child sit and answer questions, play therapy can allow them to learn skills and process emotions through their instincts to play and explore with physical contact with toys and their environment. A play therapist can use play therapy to engage children and make them feel that therapy is a fun and imaginative experience. Play therapy can also help a child build confidence or illustrate conversations. For example, they might act out a scene or tell stories indicative of their inner thoughts or emotions to help a therapist understand what they're experiencing.
CBT in children's therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is often used with children, adolescents, and adults. This type of therapy can teach an individual how to replace unhelpful thoughts with more constructive thoughts and use coping techniques to adjust behavior. It may offer children specific skills to cope with stimuli that make them uncomfortable. It may also address their behavioral, social, and emotional thought processes. A CBT therapist for children may explain concepts simply so that they can understand and offer unique assignments or coping skills tailored to their younger brain.
Social skills training
Social skills training is another therapy that may help children with difficulty interacting with others in everyday social situations. Knowing how to maintain a conversation, make friends, or connect may come quickly for some children. Others may benefit from support. Social skills training can teach children valuable social skills that can help them make friends, navigate interpersonal relationships, and manage difficult social situations.
Children with specific mental health conditions like social anxiety may benefit from learning about social skills and relationships. However, it’s important to note that these therapies may not be beneficial for all children, such as those with autism. Social skills training may cause these children further difficulties and stress from forced eye contact, socialization, or behaviors they do not want to partake in. In addition, some behavioral training programs were associated with increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in individuals with autism.
Trauma-focused counseling
Trauma-focused therapies and services for children may aim to help children who have lived through traumatic events through trauma-informed care. Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, can affect children of all ages, including infants as young as nine months. Some child therapists are specifically trained to help children process complex thoughts and heal from adverse experiences. Trauma or PTSD in children can occur from many sources, including natural disasters, loss, divorce of caregivers, witnessing or experiencing abuse, or other adverse events.
Grief counseling for children
Grief counseling can help children who may benefit from support when recovering from a loss. A child therapist can help children find a healthy way to express their emotions and understand the various stages of grief. Because children in specific developmental stages may understand and process death and other losses differently than adults, grief counseling can help them categorize these experiences in a way that makes sense. For example, some therapy centers offer grief resources to children, such as art therapy, sandboxes, or therapy groups with other children. These treatments may allow children to express their sadness without fear of upsetting their parents. Children might also benefit from grief therapy for dealing with the loss of a family pet.
Family counseling
Family therapy can offer support to children alongside the whole family. Children with behavioral concerns may hear negative feedback at home, negatively impacting their self-esteem and worsening behaviors.
A therapist can work with parents to develop behavioral plans, positive reinforcement strategies, and compassionate care to help them most effectively manage their child's behaviors. Many family therapies are child-centered, focusing on the child's needs, emotions, and desires to help the family and therapist conclude on the most effective treatments.
Group therapy may help children experiencing mood disorders or loneliness. Group therapy can allow them to interact with peers experiencing similar challenges to know they aren't alone. It may be helpful for children to overcome their challenges and feel supported as part of a team. For some children, group therapy may be less intimidating than a one-on-one therapy session. Group therapy might also help children build social skills and self-esteem by allowing them to interact with others in a healing context.
Speech counseling
Speech therapy is a common form of therapy that can help children with speech impediments, language problems, or developmental delays. Speech therapy is not considered a mental health service; however, it may be helpful in assisting children with their communication skills. As a result, a child may feel more confident in their ability to express themselves and their feelings. Thus, in-person or online speech therapy from a licensed speech language pathologist may be beneficial for children with speech impediments or delays. Physical occupational and speech therapy is another option for families seeking occupational speech and development support for their children. Through this type of therapy program or therapy center, you can connect with an occupational speech provider offering physical, occupational, and speech support for children with developmental delays.
Therapy options for parents and teens
Child and family counseling and therapy can be a worthwhile option for parents and adolescent children. As parenting can often come with increased responsibilities and a busy schedule, it may be challenging to find therapy for everyone in the family that fits in with school, work, or family time schedules, Now, it’s possible to find a provider by searching for "child therapist near me" to get the list of your easiest options. If there is no therapist available in your community, online therapy is available for parents over 18 and teens ages 13 to 19.
Online childrens therapy: Benefits for parents
One study explored the effectiveness of an online therapy program for parents and found the program had positive effects on parents' psychological flexibility, emotional control, mood, and coping skills. Another study examined online CBT's effectiveness in treating anxiety disorders in adolescents. It found the online delivery of CBT to be equally efficacious as clinic-based, face-to-face therapy in treating adolescent anxiety disorders.
Connect with a child counselor through online therapy
With online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp for adults, you may connect with a child counselor from the convenience of your home without coordinating a separate trip to an office. If you are considering online counseling for your teenager, you may consider TeenCounseling, BetterHelp's sister site specifically for children aged 13 to 19. Both platforms offer the option to choose between phone, video, or live chat sessions with a licensed therapist and attend therapy from home on your own time. If you cannot find a particular type of children’s therapist in your country or community, it may be worth considering an online therapy platform.
Takeaway
Children can experience various challenges, and some may benefit from speaking with a children's therapist. If you're considering therapy for you or your child, you may start by learning more about the common types of therapy available. If you want additional support with your parenting concerns or want to pursue therapy for your teenager, consider contacting an in-person or online therapist for further guidance and support.
Children’s therapy: How do I know if my child needs a therapist?
Your child may need a therapist if you notice a change in behavior, unusual behavior, or unhealthy behavior patterns. You may notice changes in their eating habits, changes in academic performance at school, anger and defiance, sadness and withdrawal, anxiety, poor hygiene, or changes in sleeping habits.
When should a child get therapy services?
A child should get therapy services if you notice behaviors or behavioral changes that aren’t serving your child. If your child suddenly can’t focus on school or activities they previously enjoyed, they may need therapy services. Experiencing sudden life changes and traumatic events are also reasons why a child could benefit from therapy. A child who exhibits extreme anger, sadness and depression, or anxiety can also benefit from therapy services. You can seek out therapy from a children's therapy center, your child’s school, or online therapy services such as BetterHelp.
Does therapy actually help children?
Yes, children's therapy services can be extremely beneficial for children, depending on the sorts of issues they are experiencing. It can help children achieve better mental and physical health outcomes throughout their lives.
Which therapy is most appropriate to deal with childhood problems?
The type of therapy that is best depends what type of issues the child is experiencing and how old they are. For instance, feeding therapy can improve nutrition or teach healthier eating habits from infancy onward. The type of therapy that is recognized as highly effective for children and adolescents is cognitive behavioral therapy.
At what age should a child go to counseling?
There is no specific age at which a child should go to counseling. It all depends on the child and the types of therapeutic interventions they need. Play therapy and physical therapy can be used with fairly young babies, and speech therapy can be started in the preschool years. These types of therapy, among others, can be beneficial for a variety of issues throughout childhood and adolescence.
What is CBT therapy for kids?
Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, for kids involves talk therapy that helps the child gain awareness of their thought processes and make changes in their behavior.
What therapy works best for behavioral problems in children?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered the most effective type of therapy for children in regards to helping them identify thought processes that lead to behavioral problems and make changes to their behavior. Play therapy can be good for helping younger children with their behavior.
What is play counseling for children used for?
Play therapy helps children cope with emotional difficulties, often resulting from big life changes or trauma. In play therapy children learn how to express their feelings, communicate with others, and problem solve. It can improve their social and family relationships, help them develop coping skills, and reduce behavioral problems.
What is speech therapy?
Speech therapy is delivered by speech language pathologists are specially trained therapists who help people with speech and language issues, such as problems with articulation, and fluency, swallowing among other problems. Speech therapy is the process in which speech therapists work with someone to develop their speech skills.
What is physical therapy for children?
Physical therapy for children is sometimes called pediatric physical therapy. It helps children who experience issues with physical movement for a variety of reasons develop their movement skills through fun physical activities and games. Occupational therapists provide slightly different services to children. They help children with skills needed during tasks of daily living. They can help children with gross motor skills, social skills, fine motor skills, and hand eye coordination, among other things.
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