Is Your Child Struggling Socially, Emotionally, Or Behaviorally?
Are you worried about your child’s emotional functioning? Maybe your son or daughter refuses to follow instructions or acts disrespectfully toward authority figures. On the other hand, they may be failing to form healthy relationships with their peers in school or elsewhere.
Is your child struggling academically? They may be struggling with behavioral problems or cognitive impairments. Or perhaps they act out in class or fight with their friends. You might also fear that your child’s anxiety or depression are holding them back, especially if it is causing them to avoid others or to act out in the classroom.
Do you fear for your child’s safety? Has your son or daughter made statements about wishing they weren’t born or even talked about themselves in negative terms? You might also suspect that they are self-harming or showing signs of depression. Sometimes you worry about their self-esteem and how their lack of confidence might be holding them back.
Perhaps you have done everything you can think of to help—including visits to multiple therapists or treatment programs—but to no avail. You may feel frustrated, angry, or hopeless if your child is struggling, especially if their friends or peers seem fine. Maybe you’ve questioned whether anyone understands what you and your child are going through.
Problems during childhood are rather common and can be addressed readily. Help is available—for both you and your child—to overcome these struggles.
Children Face Many Challenges
Some children are born with cognitive impairments or other mental health challenges. Others really struggle socially. There are many reasons that these issues can impact children.
Why do children struggle? The social environment is often an intense one. Kids are sometimes not supportive of each other. There can be mis-reading of social cues, difficulty making friends, and even outright rejection. There is academic pressure, particularly as children get older. All of these factors and more have resulted in high rates of childhood anxiety and depression. Children often connect to the internet and social media and disconnect from their real-life relationships.
Sometimes children express their social and emotional struggles through problem behavior. Fights with siblings, negativity toward parents and other family members, a poor attitude toward school and learning. Parents try to offer support, but sometimes this just seems like it’s not enough. Parenting a struggling child in today’s world can feel like a daily battle, but it is possible to restore peace and tranquility both at home and at school. With the help of a compassionate child counselor, you can give your child the support and guidance they need while accommodating their growth and development.
Child Counseling Can Provide Much-Needed Guidance
A lack of social support, stress at school, and many other factors can add up to make children feel stressed out and as though nobody cares. Our office can help your child cope with these challenges by acting as a safe space where they can get support and be themselves.
Therapy can also serve as a source of self-discovery and growth. Children who are overwhelmed, depressed, or who lack confidence tend to forget about their own strengths. As part of our strengths-based, client-centered child therapy program, we will help your child recognize their unique abilities and teach them how to tap into their internal strengths. We will also empower them to learn and utilize social skills that will permit them to engage with others.
We believe healthy relationships are key to kids’ emotional well-being, so we’ll explore how your child’s depression, anxiety, or other issues may be affecting their relationships (both with others and with themselves). Learning better social skills can help your child see themselves and others more clearly and develop new, healthier ways of relating.
It is essential that children have a safe and fun place to get the therapy that they need. At our office, we emphasize creating a safe space that is fun and engaging for kids of all ages. Kids learn best when they are engaged in fun learning activities.
Since we recognize that every child’s needs and goals are unique, we’re very flexible in our approach. Depending on your preferences, we can collaborate with your child’s school, teachers, or other caregivers as needed. We also offer family therapy, parenting support, and group sessions.
Our child therapists and their young clients have accomplished a great deal together. We have seen students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve academic success. We have helped children learn social skills that allow them to develop healthy relationships for the first time. And we have provided guidance for parents in building on their child’s strengths to help them thrive. We have helped many families and their children find creative ways to address mental health, social, and behavioral concerns.
As you consider child counseling, you may have some hesitations…
I don’t like the idea that my child may need professional help.
If your child is struggling, now is the time to get help. Many problems of childhood and adolescence can be addressed early on to prevent further problems down the road. Needing help is not a sign of weakness and getting help can be a sign of strength!
Bringing your child in for therapy doesn’t mean there is something wrong with them (or with you as their caregiver). It just means they (and you) could benefit from a bit of extra help.
Why should I bring my child to Groupworks and not some other child counseling center?
Every one of our child psychologists has a doctoral degree, which means they have gone through thousands of hours of advanced training and supervision. This clinical expertise empowers them to provide the highest quality of care. Furthermore, our child psychologists have been educated in how to work developmentally across ages. This allows us to tailor or interventions to your child’s exact needs.
At the same time, they will strive to see your child for who they are as a person, not just their clinical diagnosis. At Groupworks, our child counselors recognize that establishing a trusting relationship with you and your child is the most useful thing we can do. Thanks to our evidence-based, client-focused approach, we have very high success rates.
How do I know you can help with my child’s specific issue(s)?
By the time they talk to us, many parents are exasperated. Some have already seen multiple therapists or been to other treatment programs without success, leaving them feeling hopeless and at the end of their rope. But we assure you that we will do everything in our power to help. In fact, if we can’t help, we’ll offer you a quality referral to someone who can help!
Give Your Child Every Chance To Succeed
If you’re still not sure if Groupworks can provide the support you and your child need, please contact us to learn more about our child counseling services. We have a reputation for success with even the most complex cases, and we don’t shy away from a challenge. We’re looking forward to working with you!