Child and Adolescent psychotherapy
Between good old fashioned peer pressure and social media, kids are constantly bombarded with messages that they are not enough - not smart enough, not athletic enough, not pretty enough, not strong enough, not skinny enough, not wealthy enough, not popular enough, etc. It’s no surprise the rates of anxiety and depression are on the rise. If we don’t get in front of these messages and actively help children and adolescents create a strength based personal narrative, identity development during this critical time can go awry and may result in self-defeating beliefs about themselves in relationship to the world.
Early intervention and skill building
Many of the children and adolescents I worked with as a school based therapist were failed by the traditional systems designed to support the emotional needs of students. A common theme I saw was that they were offered too little, too late. Through this experience, I developed a passion for early intervention and prevention to help youth build the internal skills needed to overcome adversity, manage stress in competitive environments, and develop life skills to succeed in any setting.
Youth come to therapy with a variety of different goals, but some common topics include:
Identifying values and strengths
Understanding and managing emotions
Re-authoring negative self-talk
Learning mindfulness and meditation skills
Practicing self-compassion
Identifying and setting achievable goals
Addressing barriers to success
Time management and accountability
Planning, prioritization, and procrastination
Healthy relationships and boundaries
Perspective taking and empathy
Assertive communication skills
““Early childhood is a critical time for the brain, when connections are being made that become the foundation for a child’s future health, learning, and behavior. Adolescence is also a vital window of opportunity for building core life skills—and for practitioners to provide support. During this period, the brain strengthens its most-used connections, making them faster and more efficient, and “prunes” away less-used ones. As the different areas of the brain mature during adolescence, their ability to function as an interconnected system improves. Practicing core life skills during adolescence helps the brain build the most efficient pathways to support these skills throughout life.””
Collaboration is important, but so is confidentiality
When working with children and adolescents, I believe it’s essential to involve the parent or caregiver. However, the nature of collaboration varies depending on the age of the child and therapeutic needs. I prefer to meet with the parents initially, and may request parent participation via individual meetings, joint sessions or phone consultation throughout treatment. With younger children, parent/child sessions may be emphasized, and for adolescents, I may recommend primarily individual sessions to support individuation and identity development.
Therapy works best when the content of sessions can be confidential, within limits. By law, I’m obligated to break confidentiality for issues regarding safety - abuse of a minor or senior, danger to self or others, and serious threat of harm. Outside of these issues and any others which pose a serious risk to your child, I request that parents allow the specific content of therapy sessions to remain confidential. I usually give parents periodic general updates and share themes of sessions, but find that therapy is more effective when children feel that their privacy is protected and respected. This can be a tricky balance, and one that I’m happy to talk through in more detail before and during treatment.
How do I know if my child needs help?
Accessing the right help at the right time for your child can be difficult. Parents often wonder how to determine if their child’s struggles are within normal limits, or necessitate professional help. In my experience, it’s never too early to intervene on some level - a brief consultation call may be all you and your child need, or you may choose to pursue more intensive services. But I urge you to take the first step, as it could prevent unnecessary pain and suffering in the future - not to mention save you time and money.