Children are often referred or brought to therapy for difficulties related to school, problematic behaviors, parental divorce, trauma and/or abuse, social problems, struggles with negative emotions, etc. I often receive referrals for children who are not following rules or are hitting, biting, and kicking others. Some children seem to “shut down” and not respond when faced with challenges and other children have been exposed to life altering circumstances and appear to be reeling out of control. Children are commonly referred for diagnosis of ADHD due to school disruption and impulsivity. Additionally, some parents bring their children to therapy because something is happening around them that could cause distress and they want to be proactive in ensuring their children are processing events effectively and healthily.

Here at NDPS, I specialize in the treatment of children and adolescents with special emphasis on behavioral problems. Therapy can be very useful in helping children identify, process, and learn to express negative emotions in a healthy way. It can also be very instrumental in teaching children skills for coping with frustration, controlling impulses, social interaction and school success. Cognitive behavioral therapy and behavior modification techniques can help children and adolescents learn to develop meaningful skills to matriculate successfully through life. Parenting strategies are often shared with parents to help them gain control over aggressive and defiant children.

Therapy looks differently for children of different ages but it often includes elements of play, as play is the natural language of a child. This can include drawings, therapeutic games, working with dolls and puppets, and more. As children mature they develop more language, reasoning skills, and intellectual ability, which can allow for more conversation and discussion during therapy sessions. However, painful and difficult topics are usually more readily accessed with children through non-threatening therapeutic activities versus face to face conversation.

Adolescence is a special period of childhood in that teenagers are usually caught in the dual zone of being dependent on their parents and trying to establish personal independence at the same time. Thus, managing adolescent interactions and behavior can be challenging for many parents. Adolescents can become peer driven, defiant, challenge authority, test boundaries, break rules, become more aggressive, etc. In therapy, adolescents can have a safe space to explore their individuality and learn socially appropriate ways of exploring and expressing their independence healthily within their family systems and in society as a whole. I work with teens to explore their current way of relating, make healthier decisions, and choose a more appropriate path to their goals and success.