Why bring my child to therapy?

As a parent myself, I understand the ambivalence around bringing your child to therapy. It’s challenging to entrust your most precious people, your kids, to a person you’ve never met, and sharing some of your most intimate struggles. I get it. I have worked with many children over the years and have seen first hand the way therapy can help parents, kids, and the entire family get back on track.

Every kid has bumps along the road, just like us as adults. Sometimes these bumps are mole hills, easily crossed over, and sometimes the bumps are bigger and harder to cross, like a loss or change in the family, disruptive anxiety, or unexpected trauma. When this occurs, therapy can be helpful in navigating the terrain providing positive support and coping skills to help the child manage.

Do kids grow out of certain behaviors? Some do, of course. Some also get stuck in coping patterns that don’t serve them well long-term. Some young children who experience early struggles and don’t get help go on to develop additional symptoms, such as depression, which can be harder and take longer to treat when older. So my encouragement to you is this: if there’s a concern on your mind that hasn’t gone away for two to three months, it might be time to think about making that call. Early intervention usually means shorter treatment, and that’s a big plus for everyone.