Child & Family Therapy

It has been said – quite accurately too – that the children of today are experiencing quite a different life than those of today’s adults.

With the onset of COVID in 2019, children – young and old as well as teens – have been dealing with a lot. While we cannot change the situation – as much as we adults would like to – we can help our kids by finding strategies and ways to help them cope. All while attending to our own mental health.

Therapy or counselling for children has been around for a long time. Much of the focus has been on depression, anxiety, abuse, grief, abandonment, and behavioural issues. These have not gone away. In fact, children are feeling these emotions and experiencing these behaviours more intensely.

They are feeling overwhelmed, unable to voice their frustrations, then acting out in ways that people around them do not appreciate or understand. Which in turn leads to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

Child therapy consists firstly of creating a safe place for the child to play, to learn, and to be themselves. As with therapies for adults, the child therapist is supportive, validating, positive, and empathetic. Additionally, there is never any judging, criticizing or blaming.

Child therapists work with parents if their child clients are very young, as parents are an integral part of the child’s mental health. Parents learn tips and strategies to help their child manage their emotions, that they can then practice at home with their child.

Play therapy is commonly used with children, as is art therapy and other more experiential-type therapies, such as sandtray therapy.

Child therapists may also use aspects of Cognitive Behvaioural Therapy (CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to name a few, as a part of their treatment plan.