There’s nothing harder than being a parent and watching your child struggle. Maybe, your child is struggling with meltdowns or emotional outbursts. Or perhaps, they seem anxious or sad all the time. This leaves you feeling helpless. You’re worried about them and exhausted from trying to parent through this tough time. Their big feelings and behaviors are taking a toll on your whole family and your home is not the peaceful place you’d like it to be.
You’re worried that you’re failing as a parent, but that’s not at all true. You’re here searching for help for your child so they can live the best life possible. We understand the demands of parenthood. So, at Heights Family Counseling, we are committed to walking alongside you provide you with support as you deal with these challenges. Let’s work together to provide the tools and support for your family.
Common Reasons to Consider Child Therapy:
Children come to counseling for a variety of reasons. However, some common reasons for beginning counseling include:
Anxiety, stress, and worry
Scary thoughts
Nightmares and/or bedwetting
Frequent bouts of sadness or depression
Grief and loss
Trauma and PTSD
Behavioral concerns
Poor social skills
Meltdowns and temper tantrums
ADHD
Sensory processing disorders or autism
Eating disorders or body image issues
Poor self-esteem and self-confidence
Life transitions including parental divorce
Family conflict
Attachment difficulties
School or academic concerns
Anxiety Counseling for children
Anxiety in children is more common than you may think. In fact, research shows that over 7 percent of children have been diagnosed with anxiety. Maybe you are beginning to worry that your child is experiencing anxiety. You’ve noticed they no longer want to go to school or extracurricular activities and are not spending time with friends. It seems like every morning and after school is a battle to do things or get ready. Maybe, they start to complain of headaches or stomachaches in order to avoid activities. You find yourself losing patience with your child, yelling at them, or feeling out of control in your parenting because everything you tried isn’t working.
Please know there is hope. Our child therapists are skilled at treating anxiety. We work with your whole family to help your child find relief from their anxiety. In fact, our work doesn’t end in the counseling room. We work hand in hand with you to make sure you feel equipped to help your child at home. You don’t have to navigate this by yourself. We are the village that you have been waiting for.
Child Therapy for Behavioral Concerns
When your child is acting out, having meltdowns, or often irritable your home may feel chaotic and the family suffers. Siblings become stressed, your marriage feels tense, and everyone might be bracing for your child’s next big outburst.
You’ve tried correcting their undesirable behavior with strict parenting, bribing, reward charts, pleading, and more. You’ve tried everything you can think of to help them regulate their emotions, but the poor behavior doesn’t stop. You are exhausted and experiencing parental burnout.
Rest assured your child doesn’t want to struggle with these outbursts or difficulties. They want help, but they don’t know how to ask for it. So, in counseling, we work to determine the cause of the behavior problems, whether it is sensory sensitivities, mood concerns, anxiety, ADHD, or stress. Then, we seek to not just change behaviors. We use researched-based interventions to help your child feel in control of the behavior.
Therapy for Childhood Depression
You’ve noticed a change in your child. They’re no longer the happy kid they once were. Maybe you rarely hear the belly laughter or carefree attitude. They’re not interested in doing the things they used to love. You notice their thoughts are more negative, and they seem to be isolated from friends and family.
Children can experience depression. Research shows over 3 percent of children get a depression diagnosis at some point during their childhood.
Our child counseling services offer treatment and relief for depression. Children can learn tools to help address depression to stop it from entering adulthood. We can use play therapy and other proven interventions to help treat depression.
Our Approach to Child Therapy
Our child counselors have years of training and experiencing working with a wide range of childhood concerns. We understand that all humans need support at times, especially children. When you work with one of our child therapists we make sure you aren’t just working with a professional counselor, but one who is extensively trained in child development and child counseling.
Our goal is to create a safe environment for your child. We don’t want it to feel like they’re going to the doctor when they meet with us for therapy. The most important part of child therapy is building trust and rapport. So, we work hard to make the counseling room a comfortable place for each child to open up and express themselves freely.
Our child therapists tailor their therapeutic approach to meet your child’s unique needs. However, they use evidence practices, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, sand tray therapy, and solution-focused therapy during counseling. We also understand that it's often important to work with the entire family. So, we often encourage you to incorporate parent sessions and family sessions during the counseling process to foster growth and connection.
Begin Child Therapy in Houston, TX or San Antonio, TX:
The child therapists at Heights Family Counseling are passionate about helping children overcome the challenges they’re having in their life. We firmly believe that play therapy is a powerful therapeutic tool to help them feel better and cope with distress. Follow these steps to begin counseling in Houston, TX or San Antonio, TX:
Contact our counseling clinic to set up a free phone consultation,
Meet with one of our child therapists,
Begin child counseling and help your child heal.
