CHILD AND ADOLESCENT THERAPY
A child no longer wanting their parents to walk them to the door of school is normal.
A child that refuses to attend school with meltdowns or tantrums may be in need of a consultation.
A child no longer wanting their parents to walk them to the door of school is normal.
A child that refuses to attend school with meltdowns or tantrums may be in need of a consultation.
What is Child and Adolescent Therapy?
As a parent, it may be difficult to decide if your child’s behavior is a phase or a sign of distress. As children age, there are normal changes in attitude and demeanor that occur.
Children react and express emotions differently than adults. Due to lack of emotional maturity, it is not uncommon to notice your child acting out in ways that are not typical for them. You may see mood swings, lashing out, yelling, crying and sleep issues as some of several symptoms that occur.
A child therapist will have an in-depth grasp of human development as well as specialized training to address the specific needs of children. There are several types of therapy often used with children and adolescents. Here are the practices our clinicians often use at Kaafi Counseling:
Play/Sand Tray therapy
Children communicate through the language of play; they learn new skills, process emotions and communicate with others through play. This can be through storytelling, playing pretend with toys, or games. It gives them the freedom to express emotions in a way that makes sense to them. Play helps us as adults to better understand the child’s perspective.
In sand tray therapy, clients use a sand tray to create their own world or place of focus to work through emotions. Through the play with the sand tray, children allow us to observe and attune to what they are thinking and feeling.
Expressive arts
Paint, crayons, crafting, drawing, dance and more are used to teach skills and to communicate needs.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Behavior (CBT) Therapy helps identify counterproductive thoughts and behaviors, and replace them with more affirming and effective ones. CBT can be used with various ages. Children and adolescents benefit from and often enjoy the process of examining and re-framing negative thinking and learning about cultivating a growth mindset.
Trauma Therapy
Our clinicians are certified in Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) to address the impact of trauma on children, youth and families..
TF-CBT is evidenced based therapeutic model that supports and addresses the negative effects of trauma, including processing their traumatic memories, overcoming problematic thoughts and behaviors, and developing effective coping and interpersonal skills.
EMDR is designed to mitigate an emotionally charged experience from the past that is causing distress today and breaks through the emotional blockage that is interfering with life. Using physical and voice cues, it allows the brain to reprocess and store the memories in a way that decreases distress.