Our counselors in Lakewood, OH offer child therapy

When working in therapy with children, it's always best to try to engage parents and guardians in the services as well. Although children can learn a lot and work through things independently, they are most successful when parents are learning how to help reinforce application of therapeutic work at home. Additionally, it can be helpful to reflect with parents on how they interact with their child and if there are more effective ways they can redirect and communicate with their child. I find kids do best in therapy when using creative approaches and allowing for space to play and try hands-on approaches to learning and exploring.

My go-to approach for helping kids in child therapy is to connect with them using their interests, utilizing this as the primary therapy tool. I prefer this approach because therapy can be intimidating enough; offering kids a choice of activities they enjoy increases motivation and helps them feel safe.

In therapy for children skills can be used such as parent-child interactive therapy, parent management training, dialectical behavior therapy to teach coping and emotion regulation skills, social skills training, bibliotherapy, play and art.

I teach the following tools when working with young people: emotional identification in the brain and body, communication and self-expression, and simple calming strategies they can use anywhere, any time.

Children show they are making progress by better identifying and expressing their emotions, improving communication skills, improving engagement in therapy sessions, and lessened report of high levels of emotion or ineffective behaviors from both guardians and child.

I know a child is making progress in therapy when they are able to express themselves to trusted adults with little to no prompting. Sometimes, this means asking for help on a regular basis, and sometimes it means connecting ideas and feelings, such as "I'm sad because I can't see my friend."

Parents and children can work together to practice applying coping, communication, and social skills in their daily life.

Families can support their young person in child therapy by consistently engaging them in utilizing their coping skills. Children need to practice self-regulation in all settings; when they are calm, when they are upset, when they are in the car, when they are at home, and wherever else they may go.

In preparation for a child to start therapy, parents and guardians should identify their willingness and availability to also partake in therapeutic services.

To prepare for a first child therapy session, the family can bring a list of clear goals for their child, as well as their concerns. As a child therapist, we are interested in the child's whole development: physically, cognitively, academically, and emotionally.