Does your child have trouble dealing with their emotions? Is their behavior sometimes disruptive to your home life? Have they experienced sudden loss or trauma?
As they grow, children and adolescents develop social skills and emotional intelligence. This awareness helps them to develop into healthy, happy, and successful individuals. But some children have trouble processing their emotions and this often leads to behavior that negatively impacts their school life, home life, and overall well-being.
Effective Forms of Therapy for Children and Adolescents
Therapy offers children and adolescents a safe space to work through their thoughts and emotions. With the help of a specialized therapist, children can resolve problems, modify behaviors, and make positive and lasting changes.
The following are a few different types of psychotherapy available to children and families. Each offers unique approaches and techniques to bring about positive outcomes. Sometimes a therapist may choose to use just one specific treatment, and other times he or she may find a combination of various treatments is the best approach.
Play Therapy
The Association for Play Therapy (APT ) defines play therapy as the “systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.”
What Are the Benefits of Play Therapy?
Play therapy helps children:
- Become more responsible for their behaviors and develop more successful strategies
- Develop new and creative solutions to problems
- Develop respect and acceptance of self and others
- Learn to experience and express emotion
- Cultivate empathy and respect for thoughts and feelings of others
- Learn new social skills and relational skills with family
- Develop self-efficacy and a better assuredness about their abilities
Play therapy aims to help a child’s growth and development. The practice of play therapy requires extensive, specialized education, training and experience.
“Toys are children’s words and play is their language.”
-Garry Landreth.
If you’re interested in learning more about play therapy and how it can help your child grow, contact our office today for a free consultation.
Learn more about Play Therapy at The Association for Play Therapy's Parents' Conner:
https://www.a4pt.org/page/ParentsCornerHomePag
Expressive Arts Therapy
Expressive arts therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses creative activities—such as art, drawing, movement, music, storytelling, and play—to help individuals express thoughts and emotions that may be difficult to put into words. This approach can be especially helpful for children, teens, and adults who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to talk about their experiences. Expressive arts therapy supports emotional awareness, coping skills, and healing by engaging both the mind and body in a safe, supportive environment, and activities are always tailored to the client’s age, comfort level, and therapeutic goals.
Who is Therapy Right for?
At every age, children can be faced with life’s challenges. The following are some of the events and scenarios that can impact a child’s mental health and well-being:
- The death of a loved one
- Bullying
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Domestic violence
- Moving or attending a new school
- Divorce
- Social anxiety
- Depression
- ADHD
- Eating disorders
Therapy is not a quick fix to a child’s behavioral or emotional issues. It is instead a thoughtful and comprehensive process that provides children with insights and skills so that they may become masters of their thoughts and feelings. This, in essence, is how children develop into happy, healthy, and successful adults.
If you would like to explore treatment options for your child, please give my office a call.