Working with Young Children
At Cypress, when your child is in need of counseling, we begin with a family assessment to better understand directly from you the problems that are presenting in your home or your child’s school. As the parent, you are an integral part of creating a plan of treatment that will most benefit your child. Keep in mind that your child’s struggles do not happen in a bubble and can’t be healed just through one-on-one counseling with your child. Cypress counselors want to work with the parents closely as we start to understand what is impacting your child’s difficulties and will continue to pull you, the parent, into regular meetings to help you be a part of the change that will best support your child’s mental health.
For young children, play therapy or experiential therapy, is used to help the child explore their problems in their own ways of communicating. Art therapy, sand tray, use of props and toys to help a child process through their struggles has shown to provide great results for the children we work with here at Cypress. Issues in children can include depression, anxiety, behavioral aggression, school problems, peer/family conflict, separation and loss, grief, adoption adjustment and attachment struggles.
The Unique Aspects to Working with Teens
For older children and teens, we try to think out of the box to connect with our clients on their level. Parent involvement is less as we try to create a safe space for your teen to open up and trust their therapist. We will include teens in deciding how they want to include their parents in their treatment in therapy so that there is autonomy and agency as well as a continued safe and protected space to do their work well. Sometimes unique approaches can help a teen feel more comfortable more quickly. Things like offering walks at Radnor lake or having sessions using music therapy techniques, and other interventions that get us up off the couch, usually help clients feel comfortable and able to talk through their problems and to build connection with their counselor.
Understanding the Needs of a Child
Children and young people need to feel they are safe and know that they are connected to their key caregivers. All of their behaviors revolve around getting these key needs met. They also need to know deeply that they are good inside. This is where the power of shame can derail a good child into bad behaviors that are destructive for themselves and the systems they live in.
How We Help
For both young children and our teenage clients, our focus in therapy includes a trauma-informed approach that includes work to increase their felt sense of secure attachment with key caregivers, and increases their ability to have healthy emotional regulation skills. Often, techniques include internal family system models and parts work to help de-emphasize shame in their life and increase their ability to get to know the different parts of themselves and better know what those parts need and want to be more functional in their lives. We help deeply feeling kids, who often struggle at home and at school to be truly known in their big feelings, have more success in their relationships. And with kids with really disruptive behavior problems, we work closely with their key caregivers to better understand what the feelings are really centered around and how the right approach can make all the difference. As Dr. Becky Kennedy says, we believe, “they’re a good kid, having a hard time, not a bad kid doing bad things.”
Issues with your Child or Teen? Reach Out, we are Here to Help
Take the first step to helping your child heal. We would be honored to be invited into this work with your family.
Contact us today so we can begin this work together or call us at 615-335-4751
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”