Child Counseling

Has Your Child or Teen Been Acting Out Or Not Acting Like Themselves?

Is your child having trouble at school? Your teenager, or adolescent may be talking back, misbehaving, or lashing out at their friends or teachers. They might also be feeling overwhelmed or falling behind on their work.

Are you worried your child is being bullied or harassed by their peers? Even if your child hasn’t told you about it directly, you might fear that bullying is behind their changing behavior. They might resist going to class, avoid seeing their friends, or get into fights.

Is your child no longer acting like themselves? Maybe your child won’t listen to instructions or even answer the simplest questions. They might also be having tantrums/angry outbursts, shutting themselves in their room, or sulking around the house. If they are struggling with depression, they might also be self-harming or talking about death or suicide.

It might seem like your child’s misbehaviors came out of the blue. However, a divorce, death, move, or other major life change may have significantly affected them, especially if they have a history of emotional or developmental concerns. Regardless of what is causing your teen or adolescent’s struggles, help is available. With counseling, it’s possible to get help them feel and act like themselves again.

Parenting Can Feel Like An Impossible Job

Children need many things to thrive, including a sense of safety and stability. They also benefit from consistent emotional support. Unfortunately, finding the time and energy to fulfill adult responsibilities along with the ever-changing needs of children can be a difficult task. Striking a balance between nurturing and discipline can also be a challenge; a structured environment can help them feel safe, but teens and adolescents also need room to explore, grow, and make mistakes (within reason).

The advice available on online parenting forums can sometimes be helpful and provide a place for support, but it can’t account for the individual needs of every single family. An estimated 17 million children in the United States have (or have had) a psychiatric disorder or a combination of conditions, magnifying the need to tailor parenting guidelines to individual families.[1] For example, parenting strategies that work for neurotypical children might not work for kids with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum. And what if your child just lost a family member? Or they’re starting a new school? Or they’re adjusting to a new family structure? Even exciting events can bring about enough change to throw kids off their routine.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to parenting. Perhaps that’s why most parents say they doubt whether they can apply generalized parenting resources to their unique situations.[2] Many parents have lost patience with the process of trying a variety of approaches to see what sticks. Instead, many now rely on the personalized support and practical expertise that an experienced counselor can provide.

Child Counseling Offers Individualized Attention And Support

Working with a child therapist can help set your child up for success regardless of the challenges they’ve been facing. To that end, our experienced child and family therapist will design a customized treatment plan catered to the needs and circumstances of your child and your family.

We’ll start with a parental consultation to find out what’s been going on and when it all started. While your child’s changing behaviors may seem to have appeared out of nowhere, discussing their history may reveal connections you hadn’t recognized before. It might also point to developmental concerns or other mental health challenges we may need to address.

After this introductory meeting, your adolescent or teen will start coming in for individual sessions. It is essential that they feel comfortable during our first few visits to set the stage for a strong therapeutic relationship. Rather than pushing your child to talk about sensitive subjects immediately, we’ll start by simply getting to know each other. Depending on their age and personality, we might play a game or talk about their interests. 

As your child opens up, we’ll start to discuss the challenges they’ve been facing. We will explore how they typically respond to stressors and whether there may be any unhelpful patterns underlying their behaviors.

Your child may sometimes feel overwhelmed by intense feelings such as frustration, sadness, or anger. If so, therapy can help them recognize their emotions before they escalate out of control by paying attention to internal cues. To help them regulate and express strong emotions in healthy ways, we will teach your child new communication skills along with calming techniques such as deep breathing exercises. They will also learn how to seek out resources that help them feel supported when they are feeling low—especially if they are having thoughts of suicide or are self-harming.

If your child or teen recently experienced a death, illness, move, or other loss, therapy can help them with the grief process. By providing a calm and objective environment, we can help them find ways to honor the memory of what they’ve lost while continuing to find joy in their lives.

Therapy can also help your child overcome depression, which might currently be showing up as self-isolation or irritability. By interacting with them, we can uncover the emotional states that underlie their behaviors. Instead of lashing out or burying away painful feelings, your child or teen will learn to address difficult emotions in healthy ways. For example, if they tend to act out or isolate themselves when they are feeling sad, we can help them recognize how those behaviors may be making their situation worse. As we discover and encourage behaviors that are more helpful, your child will be more likely to adopt positive coping strategies.

Every problematic behavior has an underlying emotion associated with it. By teaching your child emotional awareness and regulation skills, they will be less likely to lash out or turn to unhelpful coping behaviors. As a result, troubling behaviors may begin to dissolve. As your child learns to better understand and communicate their feelings, the level of openness and trust between family members may also improve.

As you consider bringing your child in for child counseling, you may wonder. . .

Will child or Adolescent counseling really help?

Watching a child of any age struggle is extremely difficult, so it is only natural that you might feel discouraged. But if nothing you’ve done so far has worked, isn’t it time to try something new? Our family-focused approach will ensure that your whole family’s needs and experiences are taken into account. We will check in with you often and adjust our strategy as needed to promote continual progress toward your goals.

I’m not a perfect parent. I’m worried that you might judge me.

Great parenting takes many different forms. We’re not in the business of assuming the worst in people; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. We know that by bringing your child in for counseling, you’re demonstrating just how much you care. We also recognize that children have rich inner worlds, and they sometimes describe things in ways that can be misinterpreted. If anything we hear concerns us, we would rather talk to you about it first before jumping to conclusions.

My child doesn’t like to talk much. Will they really get anything out of coming to therapy?

Your child doesn’t have to be a strong verbal communicator to benefit from therapy. While they may initially struggle to find the words to express themselves, their reactions and behaviors during various therapeutic activities can speak volumes. Through using play therapy techniques, therapeutic games, and other approaches we can interpret their nonverbal signals and expand upon what they share initially in session. This can help them to build greater insight and awareness to develop new ways of coping that may be more helpful for them. Therapy can also give your child the tools to more fully express themselves.

Shouldn’t I be in the room during my child’s sessions? I am their parent, after all.

Individual therapy offers your child an opportunity to leave behind the pressures and expectations of their daily life. This unique environment makes it easier for them to open up, develop healthier behaviors, and cultivate a sense of independence. As a parent, you might hesitate to relinquish control even for an hour, but it could be the best thing for your child. Once your child starts learning new skills, we will work to incorporate you more into therapy to help support your relationship with your child and build complementary skills to encourage their progress at home.

That said, we also recognize the importance of good parenting to a child’s well-being. Many parents rightly feel that to help their children, they must work on their parenting skills and emotional health. We offer skills training and therapy for parents who want to learn better ways of interacting with their children when they are struggling. This can involve one-on-one parent therapy sessions, periodic consultations during your child’s treatment, and/or sessions in which we all work together to enhance your bond with your child. Contact us for more information on our parenting skills training and adult therapy sessions.

Get Your Child The Help They Need With Child Counseling

Dr. Sydney Cople, our child psychologist, has the credentials and experience to work with youth of all ages. In addition to her work as a young adult, teen, and child therapist here at Snowline Counseling, she completed her residency and postdoctoral fellowships in child, family, and pediatric psychology and also works part-time as a pediatric psychologist in a large hospital in Denver.

Dr. Cople will apply her expertise to the healing, growth, and healthy development of your child. Contact us to schedule a free consultation.

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