Child Counseling

Do You Wish You Were Able To See Your Child Happier Or More Confident?

Do you want to see your child achieve up to their highest potential but you see that there are emotional and negative life experiences that are getting in their way? Or, maybe, you feel helpless at times because as much as you want to help your child, they push you away and say, “Leave me alone!” or “I don’t want to talk about it.” It is possible that they may struggle with poor self-esteem, bullying, or fitting in with their peers.

Your child’s difficulties might relate to family life, relationships with friends, or academic struggles. No matter what the issue may be, you as a parent will try to figure it out as best as possible. However, often, this time of life is scary and new; a time when kids are just figuring out who they want to be. Most parents feel helpless and stressed, wanting to help their child, but not knowing the best way to support them.

At this moment, you might be thinking, “Why can’t my child just go with the flow and have a healthy, normal, happy childhood? If this sounds familiar, then please know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. At Apple Psychological, we are here to hold your hand, to listen and to guide you, and to give you the roadmap as to the reasons why your child is struggling, the tools we can use to help them cope with conflict, and watch them experience relief as they learn to communicate more effectively and successfully navigate healthy friendships and relationships with others.

Kids Often Struggle With Loneliness And Long To Be Accepted By Peers.

Even when children seem to have friends and be content with their lives, during their elementary stages of development, their choices of friends are changing quickly. Kids can feel lonely inside, feeling bad about themselves, even when they seem confident, and outgoing on the outside. It is hard for children to see the perspective of others and this can quickly lead to a negative mindset. Once a negative mindset develops, kids tend to believe they do not have the power to change it and inevitably accept defeat.

To add to this problem, today’s society puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our kids to achieve the highest level of academic success. We as parents feel the weight of what might happen if our children do not get the grades that are expected of them, or do not get into the college that they want to get into. We might worry that our child does not have as many friends as other children. Or we might be concerned that maybe our child is acting out behaviorally or showing signs of a mental health issue. We perhaps may feel judgement from others; that our child is a reflection on us and our parenting.

However, your child’s difficulties are not their fault or yours. At this time, they just do not have the tools they need to express themselves or problem solve effectively. This is why therapy is so important. It provides children with the opportunity to learn the skills needed to identify their emotions, express themselves effectively, and listen to another person without judgement, rather than revert to old behaviors such as yelling, arguing, or physically acting out. Even better, this is a chance for you and your child to strengthen your bond and re-experience the loving relationship that you hoped was still possible.

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Therapy Can Help Your Child Improve Their Communication Skills, Connect With Others, And Learn To Problem Solve On Their Own.

Send us a message if you have any questions.

For most kids, talking to an adult can be viewed as being lectured to or being told how to think or feel. The therapy environment is just the opposite of this. Our experienced, warm, nurturing therapists provide a safe, comforting environment for your child to open up when they are ready, understanding that they may need time and space to develop a new therapeutic relationship.

Because our sessions are delivered via telehealth, our patients feel comfortable in their own environment, without having to weather a commute. Our therapists are well versed in a variety of therapeutic techniques including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma Informed Therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, among others. Most importantly, the therapeutic technique(s) that are used will be tailored to meet the needs of your child.

We offer a FREE 15 minute consultation to discuss your initial concerns. Once you schedule an appointment, you will attend an intake session where you and your child (depending on their age) will meet to discuss the overall concerns and develop a treatment plan. With all children, and with teens especially, confidentiality will be discussed as it is of utmost importance in order to develop a healthy, trusting therapeutic relationship between all parties.

Goals often include helping children to develop better ways of identifying triggers so they can control their emotions more effectively. BUT- in therapy, when we help your child identify their triggers, allowing them to gain awareness of their emotions early on, we can intervene before this negative cycle begins to cause havoc in your child’s life.

Other goals may include helping your child to become more independent. For example, is your child able to get up in the morning on their own, get ready for school and get off to the bus? Or, more typically, do you find yourself yelling, rushing, saying the same things over and over again, arguing, and then feeling guilty as your child goes to school in the morning? Does your child come home from school, do their homework and then later in the evening get ready for bed without prompting and go to sleep on their own? Does your child struggle with falling asleep or have anxiety before bed?

These routines can be a daily struggle not just for the children but for the whole family. We can help you develop strategies to create more seamless routines, resulting in more peace, organization, and ultimately independence in your child. This new found independence will give them the confidence they need as they journey on through adolescence and into adulthood.

At Apple Psychological, we have been helping children become more independent, heal from trauma, cope with life’s challenges, and gain communication and problem-solving skills for almost 20 years. Our tremendous, combined experience, knowledge of various therapeutic techniques, together with our compassion for our clients and love for what we do have proven to be successful in helping our clients to reach goals that they never thought possible. We treat our clients as family and many of our families have been in our practice for many years as they trust our clinicians and often refer them to their own friends and family.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I participate in my child’s treatment?

Yes! As a parent, and the expert on your child’s well-being, it is certainly best practice for you to be involved in your child’s healing process. That being said, depending on the child’s age, we want to respect confidentiality and the therapeutic relationship as best as possible and therefore, the manner in which to communicate and involve parents in session can be discussed with you and your child at the intake session and beyond.

How long will the treatment take?

Our therapists measure your child’s goals on a quarterly basis. Once your child has met their goals and has the confidence and skills to manage problems on their own, we can either discontinue sessions or adjust our schedule accordingly. After all, the goal is for your child to get to a place where they don’t need us anymore. But at the same time, we want to be here to support your child no matter what. Because of this, sessions are available as a “checkup,” in case your child wants to return to therapy to address new challenges in their life.

Can you provide therapy for siblings or for just parents?

Yes! We can provide therapy for siblings, as well as family therapy. We also provide parent training as well, which is especially valuable with parents of young children. At times, it can be more effective for parents to come in alone to address issues without the child present so they may learn strategies that will help the whole family.