Child and Adolescent Counseling

"The greatest gifts you can give your children are
the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence." - Denis Waitley

Children, just like adults, can participate in and benefit from counseling. Counseling can help children and adolescents learn how to identify causes of their distress, develop their skills in asking for help and expressing emotions, and improve their problem-solving abilities. Counseling approaches are holistic and strength-based. Counseling can help children, adolescents, and their families identify and develop strength and growth areas, while reducing distress and increasing coping skills.

Therapeutic interventions are based on a combination of talk therapy and play therapy techniques that address the complex emotional life of children and adolescents. The goal is to create a situation in which children can express themselves fully in order to develop self-understanding and new, lasting changes in emotional states and behavior. Counseling with children and adolescents is a collaborative endeavor with parents or caregivers. Typically, there are regularly scheduled consultations with parents to discuss progress and focus on their concerns about the child.

Some of the signs your child may benefit from therapy are:

Difficulties at school, either with teachers, peers or academics
Problems with focusing/attention, hyperactive behaviors (ADD or ADHD)
Sudden changes in mood or behavior
Difficulties with sleeping, eating or going to the bathroom
Irritability, difficult “temper tantrums”, excessive anger or aggression
Sad or scary dreams, nightmares, or fantasies
Preoccupation with ideas, thoughts or feelings that seem inappropriate to their age

Child and adolescent therapy has been shown to be greatly effective in a wide variety of ways including;

Strengthening communication and self-expression
Building social, emotional and interpersonal skills
Making sense of challenges
Finding relief from difficult feelings
Practicing skills
Growing in self-knowledge and self-efficacy
Enhancing relationships
Managing emotional expression and regulation

Child and adolescent therapy can be helpful when facing challenges including;

Separation/Divorce and other family changes
Trauma that the child experienced or witnessed
Grief and loss of loved ones
Recovery from child abuse (physical, sexual or psychological)
School or academic problems
Sleeping or eating problems
Difficulties in relating to other children or adults
Aggression, irritability, anger
Behavior problems
Depression, anxiety and other emotional distress
Social skills

Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Perspectives Center for Holistic Therapy provides individual and family therapy for children, adolescents, and adults on the autism spectrum. Therapy is tailored to meet each client's developmental needs and capitalize on their strengths and interests. Through a collaborative process, we work with clients and their parents/caregivers to address areas of challenge and help clients reach their fullest potential.

We use a variety of empirically-supported interventions in our work with clients, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (modified for working with this population by Dr. Tony Attwood), Michelle Garcia Winner's "Social Thinking" model, The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) was originally developed at UCLA by Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, and therapy based on the principles of Play Therapy. The client is viewed as a "whole person" and careful attention is paid to any sensory processing issues, learning difficulties, and speech and language challenges.

Based on the needs of each client, therapy may focus on building skills in some or all of the following areas: increasing engagement, joint attention and shared affect; back and forth social interactions; regulation and coordination of sensations, emotions and movement; social skills/social cognition; expression of feelings and needs; managing interpersonal conflict; assertiveness; problem solving skills; initiation of communication and action; and strengthening skills related to executive functioning.

Since symptoms of anxiety and depression often co-occur with ASDs, therapy may also focus on helping clients develop coping skills to reduce such symptoms and increase overall quality of life.

In addition to providing individual therapy, we recognize the importance of working closely with family members to support them in understanding their loved ones’ symptoms and needs. We also provide family therapy to enhance family communication, support families in working through conflict and coping with stressors, and to strengthen family relationships. Collaboration with other care providers is equally important and we contact relevant doctors, psychiatrists, occupational therapists and others who are involved in providing care to our clients.

Why would I send my child or adolescent to counseling?

Children, just like adults, experience stress. Common stressors for children include school and family issues. School stressors may include excessive or difficult homework, test anxiety, peer pressure, bullying, and learning difficulties. Family issues may include parental arguing, divorce, moving homes, new sibling, major illness, and transitions.

What is the goal of child or adolescent therapy?

Specific counseling goals are customized to meet the needs of the child and their family. The overall goal of our child and adolescent therapy program is to alleviate symptoms of distress; improve the child’s social and emotional resources; increase their use of effective communication skills; and strengthen family, community, and peer relationships.

How do you accomplish goals?

Creating an environment where a child/adolescent feels safe and protected from real or perceived threats to their sense of control. We then work collaboratively with the child/adolescent to identify their areas of distress, examine and express their feelings by expanding their emotional vocabulary, and develop positive ways to cope and thrive in their environments.

Do you just talk with my child or adolescent, like in therapy with adults?

There is talking involved in the therapy process, however with children and adolescents the therapy incorporates many activities, play and games. It is important for us to engage and interact with the child/adolescent, versus “talking at” them, as the language they are most familiar with at this stage in life is more nonverbal and interactive.

If you are playing games with my child or adolescent, how does that help?

It can be difficult for children/adolescents to identify the sources of their distress and/or verbally express their feelings. Instead of forcing the child/adolescent into our adult world of discussion, we join them in their world of communication through play and activities. Through the process of play, we work on problem identification, problem solving, and communication skills. The focus is on creating a safe space for the child/adolescent to gain a better understanding of themselves and improve their communication and relationships with family and others.

Are parents or primary caregivers included in the therapy sessions?

Parents or primary caregivers can be incorporated in the therapy process depending on the nature of the problem and the child/adolescent’s environmental resources. Others may include family (e.g., parents, grandparents, siblings), teachers, and caregivers. The amount of time and frequency of involvement of others is unique to the child/adolescent and family’s situation. We understand that many parents have questions about their child/adolescent’s therapeutic process and progress. Therefore, we reserve the last few minutes of every session to touch base with parents/caregivers to answer questions and provide updates, as appropriate. In addition, regular consultations with parents or primary caregivers are scheduled to discuss progress and focus on their concerns about the child.

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The Center for teen and family therapy