Child Help, Child Therapy, Child Psychologist

Therapy for Children

Helping children overcome problematic behaviors can be challenging for every parent. Responding well to difficult behaviors and teaching children appropriate alternatives is a complex process that balances rewards, consequences, empathy and esteem-building all at the same time. For children struggling with a mental disorder or developmental disorder, this process can be even more difficult. The Child Therapists at Meridian Behavioral Health can give your child behavioral help that works. All of our child counselors have worked in a combination of residential, inpatient and outpatient settings which gives them experience in the full spectrum of problems children can face. We take a family-based approach that emphasizes involving parents in the therapy process, with the goal of transitioning what goes on in the therapy room to the home environment. Our counselors provide you child behavioral help that pairs the parents and the therapists together on the same “team”.

What goes on in Child Therapy?

It depends on the goals, and the age of the child. With young children, therapy often focuses on helping the child express their emotional difficulty so that it can be addressed, or shaping problematic behaviors into more helpful behaviors. Both of these goals involve specialized techniques that are designed to encourage children to talk about the difficulties they have, or to teach parents new tools for setting and maintaining behavior boundaries, and rewarding “good” behavior in a way that changes the behavior in a supportive, effective and long-term manner while building self-esteem.

I hear that Child Therapists simply play games with kids….is that true?

They do play games, but games with the very specific goal of encouraging children to talk about their experiences in a detailed and safe manner. When providing Psychological services for children, assessment and intervention look very different than with adults, where “talk therapy” is the predominant mode of treatment. When providing child behavioral help, toys, games and puppets are often used to help children identify and process complex emotional states and experiences. For a detailed description of this, visit the following article by one of our staff members: About Play Therapy

What about therapy with teens?

Therapy for teens can look completely different that therapy for children or adults. They are often struggling to develop a sense of identity and independence from their parents making them very reluctant to show vulnerability at home or take direct advice from their parents. When a therapist is able to connect with a teen and form a trusting relationship, they can act as a mediator between the family and the teen, and help them navigate the difficult bridge between adolescence and adulthood. As they get older, much of the therapy is talk-based, though some game-based tools or expressive therapy techniques can help facilitate the process. Another one of our staff wrote the following article on the conflict commonly felt between parents and teenagers:
Loving Your Teenager through Push and Pull

Do you have experience in diagnosing complicated problems, such as those requiring prior hospitalizations?

Yes. We work as a team at Meridian Behavioral Health and have two Clinical Psychologists that help when comprehensive diagnostic evaluations are needed. We can provide a thorough assessment, can review past records, are able to provide detailed Psychological Testing, and can provide feedback to the Medical Doctors involved in the care of your child.
How do I find out if therapy can help with my child or adolescent? Speaking with one of our child counselors can give you a sense of how child behavioral help can benefit your child. We will be happy to speak with you in a confidential consultation at no charge, in person or on the phone. We would also be happy to help you look into your health insurance benefits, or any other concern you might have. If you would like to find out more about how we can help, click here.

Play Therapy as a Part of Therapy for Children

Play Therapy is a set of techniques used by trained child therapy specialists to allow them to work within the normal communication and learning styles of children. Children often lack the verbal language to adequately express the emotions they experience or to process the difficult things they are going through. Therapy for children often includes techniques tailored to help children work through problems using various forms of play activities (such as puppets, painting and re-creating stories through clay or sand-tray use). A child counselor that has been specifically trained in the use of play therapy can help a troubled child learn to communicate with others, express feelings, work through troubling experiences and learn coping skills to help reduce distress.

At Meridian Behavioral Health, we have three licensed professionals specifically trained in the use of Play Therapy techniques. It has become such an integrated part of the therapy for children that our agency provides, we have begun building an entire therapy room specific to the needs of children that includes special tools used in play therapy and expressive therapy.

If you have questions about how these tools can be used to help your child with behavior problems, emotional distress or problem solving skills, we encourage you to speak with one of our child therapists. We would be happy to discuss our child therapy services as they pertain to your unique circumstances, and help you navigate the use of health insurance for these services. To get started today, find out how we can help!

Some common issues we address with children: Some common issues we address with Teens: