Child & Adolescent Therapy
"Only the family, society's smallest unit, can change and yet maintain enough continuity to rear children who will not be 'strangers in a strange land,' who will be rooted firmly enough to grow and adapt."
- Dr. Salvador Minuchin
Types of Sessions offered
Individual
This is one on one therapy between the child/teen and their therapist. Here we focus on my client's goals and building strategies to reach them. This style of therapy can work well for older children and teens, but may not be appropriate for younger children. For younger children, independent application of therapeutic tools and skills may still need some adult support, so a collaborative approach may be more beneficial.
Parent/Child
Parent/Child sessions are for when we are working on problems that also impact the parent and child relationship, and may include both the parent and the child in the therapy room together. As a family-focused style of therapy, these types of sessions can help repair trust when it has been lost, improve our quality of communication, or reduce conflict.
Collaborative
Collaborative parent/child sessions are child focused sessions where I meet with my client individually first to focus on the concern identified and the strategies to address it. Afterwards, I may meet with the parent either with the client present, or individually, to review the specific therapeutic skills or tools that were taught, so they may continue to help their child practice the strategies at home.* These styles of sessions can be helpful for children who may not be fully ready for individual therapy yet, who may feel more comfortable with their parents attending sessions with them.
* A note on confidentiality and privacy: Preserving my client's confidentiality and privacy is of the utmost concern, whether I am working with a child, teen, or an adult. Consent to disclose information is reviewed with my clients before any parent/child collaborative session, as are the limits to confidentiality as it pertains to risks and safety. Balancing general education of therapeutic skills, tools, and strategies, as well as client confidentiality are important for maintaining a safe therapeutic space. I am always happy to answer any questions around what these limits to confidentiality look like, and frequently review these areas in session with my clients.
Why might my child benefit from therapy?
Our young people are facing complexity in their lives that as adults, our generation never had to worry about before. When you pair this with the normal challenges that come with growing up, the stresses of learning how to navigate the world and school and relationships, and you combine these elements with potential risk factors for mental illness, it can be daunting as a parent to know how to support our child towards the positive outcomes we hope for. Unfortunately, many mental health concerns can start earlier than we would expect. It can be scary as a parent to consider that our child may be experiencing symptoms that might mean their mental health is suffering-- and even more so if we worry that this means we have done something wrong. The reality is that for every person out there, every parent and every child, there are individual qualities to the relationship that make it difficult to select any perfect way to raise another unique person-- and no single person or method will have an answer that solves the unique challenges that come with parenthood. But, pursuing therapy to support our child when we (or they) have identified concerns that may affect their mental health is one option we can explore to try expand our options. By consulting with a professional with experience working with young people and families, we may be able to identify areas where our child is excelling, and where we as parents are headed in the right direction; as well as blind spots we may just not have known to look for.
For many of the clients I have worked with, we have sought to support not only the development of adaptive tools to help my younger clients succeed in their mental health goals; but to also bridge that gap for parents who have been trying their best, but may worry about feeling out of their depth when it comes to helping their child know how to solve some of the problems they have been faced with. By offering practical, collaborative tools to both parties, we can set the foundation for future growth.
