CHILDREN AND PARENTS
Is your child having problems with:
Are you having problems with your child?
Do you spend most of your time together arguing?
Does it feel like everything is a battle?
Are you at your "wits end"?
Are you beginning to feel like a failure as a parent?
You are being a good parent by looking into psychotherapy for your child.
You obviously want your child to feel better.
Once your child feels better, you will too!
QUESTIONS ABOUT CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPY
How young do you see children for therapy?
I work with children who are 3 years old and older.
What happens in child therapy?
I use several approaches in working with children. For pre-school children, play therapy is usually most effective. Sometimes I see the child alone. Often it is helpful to work with the the parent in the room. When you're in the therapy room, you may want to join in the play or you may just observe. We can 'play it by ear'.
School age children vary so much according to their ages and personalities. Some will continue to communicate through play therapy. Many use drawings in addition to playing. Surprisingly, most children will talk about what's going on for them a lot more than you'd think they would. I accommodate what each child needs to express themselves in each particular session.
I meet with your child a minimum of once a week in the beginning. You and I decide together if it would be helpful to meet more often and when it's time to start tapering off the visits. We always try to do what will help your child feel better and behave better as quickly as possible.
What is Parent Counseling?
It is so important that you as parents be actively involved in your child's therapy. Most often this consists of regular meetings with me when your child is not with you. We talk about how things are going at home. Together we develop strategies to help your child progress and thrive at home and in school and in social settings. In the beginning we meet regularly, weekly or every other week. As things progress, we may meet once a month or speak for a few minutes on the phone when needed.
How Do we get started?
It's important for me to meet with parents alone first. I want to hear from you in detail what is going on with your child. The best case scenario is for both parents to come in together. If this isn't possible due to schedules or other issues, I can schedule a phone session with whichever parent can't make the appointment.
Depending on the issues, and with your permission, I contact your child's school to speak with his/her teacher and other personnel involved in your child's school day. It may be helpful for me to make a school visit to observe your child in class.
If your child is on medication for behavior and/or has other medical issues, I request your consent for me to be in touch with your pediatrician or pediatric psychiatrist.
Sometimes parents feel it's important for me to see how their child behaves at home with the family. Home visits can be arranged for this prupose.
As you can see, helping a child can be complicated and time consuming but it is so worthwhile!