Children experience emotional stress in response to events, circumstances, life changes, trauma, or mental health issues. They or their families may feel overwhelmed or prone to anxiety and sadness. Therapy providing a safe and nurturing environment to probe and understand feelings, manage moods and worries, and learn new strategies for coping, communicating, and establishing healthy relationships. Therapy can help with problems as varied as:
- academic performance
- adoption or attachment concerns
- family communication or divorce
- grief
- social functioning
- coping with chronic illness
- psychiatric condition (depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder)
Therapy may involve individual, family, parent-child, or parent-only sessions. To begin treatment, an intake assessment is held to gather information on the child and family and devise a treatment plan. Intervention strategies are drawn from play therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, family therapy, parenting consultation, and parent-child relationship building. Theraplay® techniques are used with families to improve communication, behavioral compliance, and emotional regulation.
Laurie Mount Grimes PhD 