What is child therapy?
Child therapy, also known as counseling for kids, helps young individuals better understand and manage the challenges that affect their mental health. Common challenges amongst kids include behavioral issues, trauma, bullying, depression, and anxiety. All ages of children can attend and benefit from child-therapy at Thriveworks Newark.
How does child therapy work?
Child therapy works by using multiple techniques, tailored to fit the child’s needs based on their age group, their challenges, and the severity of their challenges. It might involve play therapy for younger kids or cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, art therapy, and others for varying ages. In any case, Thriveworks child therapists in Newark, NJ have the expertise and experience to help kids at their level.
Play therapy vs child therapy
Child therapy is a type of therapy meant for clients within a specific age group, while play therapy is an approach to therapy that helps children with self-expression and stress relief, among others. Play therapy is a technique that is often used in child therapy to help children express what’s running through their minds when they do not have the words to express their thoughts and emotions. It can get children to express what’s wrong, what might be causing unwanted behaviors or what they might need, in a way that is accessible to them so that therapists can then work to treat the issue.
How to tell if my child needs counseling
It’s not always obvious when a child should see a therapist for their behavior, though in the midst of challenges like divorce, loss, bullying, and other mental health conditions, it’s often a good idea to seek it out. Common behaviors that can indicate a need for child therapy include separation anxiety, bedwetting (at inappropriate ages), and agitation/excessive irritability — especially if it reaches a point of physical violence.
What type of therapy is best for children?
Cognitive behavioral therapy at Thriveworks in Newark, NJ is one of the best types of therapy for children. However, it can be administered in child therapy sessions in a variety of ways that are more accessible to young minds, such as play therapy.
Is child therapy conducted in person or online?
Child therapy at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and online by video. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
How long does child therapy last?
The length of child therapy depends on your child’s needs as well as the goals that you and their therapist might have for them. Generally, child therapy sessions will last for several months.
How much does child therapy cost?
At Thriveworks, we take most major forms of insurance, which means that many of our clients only pay a $0-$50 co-pay per session. However, there are also self-pay options that sit around $200 per session, depending on the service and location, for those who are out-of-network.
Need more help deciding?
If you could take a time machine back to your childhood, would you? You might like to relive some of your joyful memories, like playing at recess, running through waves at the beach, or spending the whole day with Mom. But you’d probably rather not revisit some of the painful memories, like your grandfather passing, your parents telling you that they’ve decided to separate, or that school bully picking on you.
As is true for adulthood, there are both good and bad moments in childhood. However, we tend to forget that childhood isn’t all fun and games. We forget about the painful, challenging, and emotional moments. It’s important that we remind ourselves just how difficult childhood can be—and that we do our best to provide our kids with the help or support they might need in the face of adversity.
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”
–John F. Kennedy
Sometimes, our own advice and support can help our kids solve their problem. But at other times, a child therapist’s help and guidance is necessary to help them through the challenge at hand. If you see a need for therapy for your child or teen, consider reaching out to a counselor who specializes in helping these young individuals. Thriveworks Newark has child therapists and psychologists who can effectively help your child. They will take a look at what your child is going through, what their unique needs are, and then design a plan for helping them. If you’d like to see how your child could benefit from starting a relationship with a therapist or counselor, reach out to Thriveworks Newark Counseling today.
How Does Child Therapy Work? How Can It Help My Kid?
Child therapy was created to help kids, adolescents, and teens. It can help these young individuals manage stressors, work through tough emotions, and address other challenges that they encounter. Let’s take a look at a few specific examples, to better understand how therapy might help your child:
- Adjusting in the midst of divorce: A huge challenge for many kids is coping with and adjusting to their parents’ divorce. Often, this separation is just as hard (if not harder) on these young individuals as it is their parents. This is a major adjustment period for them, as they move through anger, confusion, sadness, guilt, and/or other tough emotions, as well as major changes in their routine. They will likely require a lot of support and reassurance that this change is not about or because of them. It’s also common for them to need some extra help and support from a therapist, too. A professional can help them to express how they are feeling through journaling, crafting, and other activities. They can also teach them the tools and techniques necessary to cope during this tough time.
- Managing mental health conditions: Child therapists can also help their clients manage mental health conditions, from anxiety to depression, PTSD, ADHD, and so on. If your child starts to exhibit strange behavior—say, they suddenly isolate themselves from their peers, they express disinterest in going to school, they lash out or rebel—they might be experiencing symptoms of a mental illness or have another mental health problem on their hands. Either way, child therapy can help them get to the root of what’s going on and manage whatever problem your child has run into.
- Working through anger, stress, and other difficult emotions: We all feel angry, stressed, and upset from time to time, right? Right. There is nothing wrong with this. However, it is important that we can properly manage and communicate our emotions. Now, doing so isn’t quite so easy in childhood. Kids and teens are still developing, and they’re still learning about these emotions. If your child is struggling with a given emotion, a child therapist can help them understand what and how they are feeling as well as how they can express these emotions in a healthy manner.
There are many other scenarios in which a child therapist can prove helpful. If your child is struggling in any which way, consider contacting Thriveworks Newark Counseling. Our child therapists are ready to take on any challenge and help your child grow well.
Schedule Child Therapy at Thriveworks Newark Counseling
Child therapy proves to be an effective, supportive service for many kids, adolescents, and teens. If your child is struggling or could benefit from working with a professional for any given reason, contact Thriveworks Newark. We want to help.
Coping Skills, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma / PTSD 
