Our counselors in Dallas, GA offer child therapy

A strong approach for supporting children who are engaging in individual therapy is to use play therapy, narrative therapy, and functional family therapy. Play is often referred to as the universal language between children and adults, which better allows the provider to engage with the child's narrative. Given that children may not always “have” or know the perfect words to say to express their experiences, allowing children to express themselves through play may allow the provider to gain greater insights into the child's executive functioning, behaviors, and interpersonal dynamics. These insights will better inform the provider of the client's narrative and how it can best be honored in the home or family system.

Tools that I feel are extremely beneficial to develop in child therapy are:

• Feeling words: To explore feelings and identify/learn about the words that allow us to share these feelings with ourselves and others.
• Boundary setting: Supporting the child's understanding of how to appropriately set their boundaries and honoring other's boundaries (parents, siblings, friends, teachers, coaches).
• Social skills: Opportunities for role-playing social skills like initiating conversations, making friends, and navigating peer relationships.
• Grounding: Progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, tapping, and other body-based relaxation tools to support down-regulation/emotional regulation.
• Behavior management: Identifying strategies and re-enforcement systems that support the child’s emotional regulation, impulse control, and understanding of consequences, ultimately promoting positive behavioral change.
• Self-esteem building: Utilization of psychoeducation to support children in building a positive sense of self by creating opportunities for success and mastery.

Often in child therapy, the role of the parent/guardian is just as vital as the role of the child. Therefore, in order to ensure meaningful progress in child therapy, it is important for the provider to clearly understand and consistently check in on the individual goals of the client and their parents/guardians. Additionally, it can be incredibly helpful for the provider to engage in continuous communication with other supports in the child's life (teachers, psychiatrists, primary care providers, etc.) to determine if the child is meeting their emotional and behavioral goals in different environments throughout treatment. In child therapy, there are many moments of meaningful progress, as children are constantly reaching new milestones of understanding, reflection, and feeling.

Clients in child therapy are able to supplement their time outside of sessions with parent/guardian supported activities, parent sessions and trainings, peer support groups, therapeutic camps, and more! Oftentimes, allowing for systemic and family dynamic work to take place in the child's environments outside of therapy sessions is a wonderful way to support the child's success in sessions. Child therapy, although primarily oriented around the child, can also heavily involve key players in their life such as parents/guardians and siblings. This allows for several opportunities outside of sessions for families to practice integrating key tools and concepts into their lives that best meet the needs of all members of the family, not just the child in therapy.

To prepare your child and your family, for the first session of child therapy, it can be incredibly helpful to disclose to your child why they are being brought into therapy, prior to the day of the session. Not sharing a “why” with the child can lead to the child experiencing elevated emotions of fear or anger related to their lack of control while walking into a new environment where they are encouraged to share all parts of their life with a complete stranger. This can be a very shocking situation to encounter without an advanced notice or an explanation of what therapy can be used for. Additionally, during the first session, many providers will welcome the child and their parents/guardians into the session together prior to meeting with the child independently. This can be a wonderful way to set a strong foundation for the client and provider, as well as the family and the provider.