Therapy for Children in Houston Texas 77006

Children are not immune to the emotional and behavioral struggles adults face and compared to adults, have less practice in navigating a demanding and sometimes scary world. Throughout their development children need a lot of guidance and rules to keep them safe. As parents we want to balance out the rules in guidance with love and support. We know this can feel like an uphill battle at times and we want to support you, as their parent, and your child. Below are some common concerns parents have regarding their developing child and ways therapy with us can help.

Anxiety in Children

The world can be scary place for anyone and our children pick up on this. Children transition through many normal fears and grow out of them in time, such as fear of the dark. or stranger danger. Yet, some children’s fears seem to compound over time and can interfere with important areas of their life such as making friends, learning in school, or participating in clubs or sports. The difficult part as a parent can be determining when the anxiety present in these situations is becoming a problem or is part of normal development.

Childhood anxiety can show up in a variety of ways. Asking a lot of what if questions indicating they are thinking of a worst-case scenario (“What if we crash?” “What if I get lost?” “What if I fail?”). These types of thoughts can cause anyone to become tearful or otherwise emotional in anxiety provoking situations.

Another way anxiety manifests itself is avoidance or a desire to avoid certain situations. This can be indicative of many thing with children including negative social interactions or feared possible negative social interactions. Not wanting you to leave when going to school, the child struggling to get out of the car at school, not wanting to go to a friend’s house, or even always spending their school lunch hour in tutoring to hide from the social nightmare that a school lunchroom can be. Seeming to have frequent headaches or stomach and digestive issues, without a medical cause.

There are many symptoms of childhood anxiety and if you are reading this and are finding that these are ringing true, it is best to seek therapy sooner rather than later. Untreated anxiety typically grows worse and more problematic over time.

Therapy for childhood anxiety consists of two main approaches. First, is helping your child develop coping skills to feel confident in the face of their anxiety. Some of these skills are very concrete like learning how to spot worst-case thoughts , others skills are more imaginative like pretending to be your favorite superhero and acting how they would in a situation. After mastering some of these skills, your child will practice gradually facing their fears in a safe and trusting environment.

Behavior Issues in Children

We all know children break rules, push limits and have meltdowns. So how do we know when it’s too much? Especially when some kids struggle with this more than others.

Do you ever feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing is working to get certain behaviors “under control?”

Does your child often act out by hitting or kicking when he/she becomes upset?

Or maybe you’re getting calls from the school regarding your child’s behavior?

How about avoiding running certain errands with your child because you just know they are going to have an uncontrollable tantrum in public?

If this sounds like some of the struggles you’re experiencing and you are frustrated and concerned for your child, then it’s probably a good idea to reach out for support through therapy.

What we will do as a team (the therapist, yourself, and your child) is focus on working together to set up your child’s environment so they are more likely to succeed. This is often accomplished through a therapy method called parent training in which the parent gains the skills to become their child’s therapist in a sense. An important part of implementing skills is doing so gradually to guide your child in a supportive manner to reach the end goal – a nourishing and respectful parent/child relationship.

Adjusting to Life Changes

Major life changes are hard on anyone, and they can be an especially difficult time for children. Whether that life change is divorcing parents, moving and changing schools or even the death of a loved one or friend – it takes a toll. Children often feel no control in these situations which makes it all the more challenging for them. During these times, it can be important to seek counseling to help your child recognize and identify various strong emotions and develop skills to both manage and express them in a healthy way.

These are just a few of the many difficulties kids face. If you have concerns about your child’s well-being outside of this list – take it seriously. No matter what is going on with  your child remember that, you know your child best. If you believe something is holding them back from their full potential – whether that is academically, socially, or even their own happiness – schedule an appointment with us today and we can work together to help your child achieve their full potential.