Children’s Mental Health: Does My Child Need Pediatric Counseling?
Sending your child to pediatric counseling with a licensed child therapist can give you and your child an objective expert’s perspective as you work through any challenges they are facing. Below we’re going to discuss child counseling, signs that your child may benefit from it, and how to obtain it.
Understanding pediatric counseling
Children often experience complex emotions that can lead to mental health disorders—and these conditions can occur earlier than you might expect.
Children's Mental Health Awareness Week is celebrated every first week of May. This celebration tends to spread awareness of the importance of children's mental health and attempts to eliminate the stigma surrounding children's mental health issues. A mental health diagnosis is no reflection on you or your parenting skills, nor is it a reflection on your child. It is simply a sign that they may need to develop more skills to cope with life’s challenges. Treatment for children facing these disorders can have a positive effect on their lives.
Importance of counseling for children’s mental health
Children who receive help for mental health concerns often go on to lead healthy and productive adult lives, due in part to the coping skills they can learn from counseling. Therapists trained in child development can help children work through common challenges, discuss their feelings, and learn how to manage their emotions.
Pediatric counselors are typically specially trained and licensed to work with children and adolescents. After all, children are not yet mentally equipped to understand or know how to cope with anxiety and other feelings for which many adults seek professional help. Licensed child counselors work with children to manage various concerns, such as difficulty coping with trauma, adjusting to divorce or other family changes, body image and self-esteem struggles, and difficulties with peers.
Is pediatric counseling right for your child?
If you are unsure whether your child could benefit from counseling, consider this list of potential risk factors or warning signs. If your child is demonstrating any of these behaviors, you may want to consult a medical or mental health professional.
- Increased desire to spend time alone or lack of desire to spend time with family or friends.
- Sudden decline in school performance.
- Difficulty concentrating at school or on other tasks.
- Persistent sadness, sullenness, lack of energy, or hopelessness.
- Excessive anxiety or stress.
- A loss of interest in activities they previously enjoyed.
- Extreme dependency on habitual acts, such as hand washing or making sure doors are locked.
- Excessive anger or agitation that leads to lashing out.
- Changes in sleeping or eating habits.
- Difficulty connecting with peers.
- Withdrawing from life or displaying an unwillingness to open up.
How treatment works in pediatric counseling
Typically, a pediatric counselor tailors a treatment plan to the individual child, considering their age, level of development, personality, behavioral concerns, and more. Then, they'll often set specific treatment goals to ensure that their strategy is helping the child. Depending on your child's needs, their counselor may use talk therapy, play therapy, or group therapy. Each form can be effective, but most often, the child counselor will start with talk therapy to form a connection with the child and ensure they have a clear understanding of how they're feeling.
Benefits of play counseling, parent-child interaction counseling, child and family-focused CBT, and other types of pediatric counseling
Child therapists can treat a number of social or emotional challenges that your child is currently dealing with. Some of the most common services include treatments for anxiety, trauma, divorce, and grief. Counselors who specialize in working with kids often use play therapy for children—which usually involves talking to and observing your child while they play with toys or undergo artistic activities—to help children learn how to talk about their feelings.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for children
Even with the very young, psychological treatments can be successful. In fact, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a proven effective method for children as young as three years old. CBT focuses on recognizing and reframing beliefs that contribute to maladaptive behaviors and emotions. For example, if a child is scared that something bad will happen to their parent, using CBT, a children's behavioral therapist can help them learn to respond to those thoughts and tell themselves that those bad things are unlikely to happen.
How to support your child’s mental health
It can be difficult to watch your child struggle, especially when they’re experiencing something that you may not be able to help them work through on your own. If you are considering counseling but want to take steps on your own as well, you can implement some simple changes at home to help your child cope during difficult times. These can include:
Make time to talk
Take the time to sit down and talk with your child. Do your best to be present and listen without judgment or interruption to the struggles they are facing. This can help your child to feel safe, heard, and sort through their own thoughts.
Encourage healthy sleeping habits
Numerous studies have linked sleep issues to mental health challenges in children and adolescents. Encouraging your child to maintain healthy sleeping habits—such as having a bedtime routine, getting enough sleep, and reducing screen use before bedtime—can help them stay mentally and physically healthy.
Encourage daily exercise
Experts have found that regular exercise can help children and adolescents cope with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and other mental health challenges. Encourage your child to exercise regularly, whether through organized sports, playing outdoors, or simply taking a family walk. You can turn exercise into a pastime that you can enjoy together—for example, hiking, hiking, climbing trees, playing things like badminton or basketball, or jogging. Physical activities can offer additional opportunities for conversation and closeness.
Online therapy and mental health support for parents
Research shows that online therapy can help parents provide care to children who are living with mental health concerns. In one study, researchers found that online therapy could help parents with children who experienced depression and anxiety implement strategies for managing their symptoms. Participants found that they were able to improve their relationships with their children, reduce family conflict, and improve behavioral concerns.
Benefits of online therapy for parents and children
Online therapy, both for your child and for you, can make a significant difference in helping you move forward as a healthier, happier family. An online therapy platform like BetterHelp, or its sibling platform TeenCounseling, may be a great fit for your busy family life. Both BetterHelp and TeenCounseling offer flexible, discreet counseling around your schedule. TeenCounseling is designed to provide teenage counseling for adolescents aged 13 to 19. It allows teens to work with a licensed counselor through video calls, voice calls, or in-app messaging. BetterHelp offers the same customizable service for busy parents like you, so you can work with a licensed counselor whether you’re waiting in a carpool lane or unwinding on your couch after a long day.
Takeaway
As a parent, helping your child learn coping mechanisms and skills for life’s challenges can be a struggle for both you and your child. However, you don't have to do it alone. A licensed therapist can help you address complicated emotions regarding parenthood and other concerns. With the right help, you and your child can continue down the path to improve mental health.
What are the goals of play therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, and other types of child and family-focused counseling?
The goals of pediatric counseling include:
- Teaching children health coping skills
- Providing a safe space for emotional expression and processing
- Developing healthy coping skills
- Destigmatizing talking about feelings
- Improving problem-solving skills
- Supporting healthy relationships
- Managing symptoms of disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or eating disorders
In pediatric counseling, parent education and training are often central goals, too.
What does a pediatric therapist do?
A pediatric or child therapist is a licensed mental and behavioral health professional who specializes in working with young people. These professionals may approach psychotherapy in a different way than traditional adult talk therapists do.
For example, a pediatric therapist might meet with a young person in a calming therapy office or center designed for children. They often use play-based therapy to engage children who have autism spectrum disorder, have experienced traumatic events, or otherwise might have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts and feelings. These methods are useful in the early years, when children may not yet have the language to express complex emotions.
How do you explain counseling to a child?
When explaining pediatric counseling to a child, it’s helpful to:
- Use language appropriate for their developmental level
- Destigmatize mental healthcare and normalize talking about mental health symptoms
- Remind them that therapists provide skills but that doesn’t mean anything is wrong with them
- Emphasize how therapy can help, rather than using it to “fix” a problem
- Ensure your child understands their rights and autonomy
Overall, adults should normalize talking about feelings and getting mental health support. Creating opportunities for open conversations early in life can help build lifelong confidence, curiosity, and high self-esteem.
Some of the most commonly used pediatric counseling modalities for children include play-based therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, art therapy, and humanistic therapies.
For young children or children with neurodivergence, play therapy or adapted cognitive behavioral therapy may be more appropriate than traditional cognitive behavioral therapy. However, overall, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered the gold standard of psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults.
Pediatric counseling is important for many reasons, including the following:
- Providing children with a safe space to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
- Teaching children healthy coping skills
- Encouraging positive self-talk, self-acceptance, and high self-esteem
- Building stress resilience
- Improving emotional regulation
- Providing children with greater communication skills and empathy for others
- Intervening early in mental health problems
- Supporting productivity, executive functioning, and problem-solving skills
- Destigmatizing emotions and mental health
Overall, pediatric counseling can help children cope with life stressors, communicate better, and succeed in their academic and professional life.
Some signs that your child may benefit from pediatric counseling include:
- Challenges with executive functioning
- Maladaptive coping, such as self-isolating behaviors, skin picking, or nail biting
- Behavioral challenges at school or home
- Changes in eating, sleeping, or behavioral patterns
- Persistent sadness
- Acting secretive
- Losing interest in activities they used to enjoy
- Sudden drop in school performance
- Difficulty regulating emotions
- A major life change, such as changing schools, moving, divorce, or a death in the family
In addition to helping children manage mental health challenges or differences in learning, pediatric counseling can help any child learn healthy coping and problem-solving skills, improve communication, and boost well-being.
Most child therapists recommend parents get involved in their child’s therapy. Parents can learn how to collaborate with their children and implement therapy skills at home. For the benefit of the child’s autonomy and discretion, therapists often provide personal therapy time in addition to sessions for both children and parents.
Pediatric counseling can be effective for children. For example, one review of 3094 participants found that child and adolescent therapy for anxiety significantly improved global functioning, symptom severity, and family functioning.
The first pediatric counseling session with a child may include:
- An age-appropriate explanation of what therapy is and how it can help
- Trust-building exercises and games, often with the parent present
- Observation
- Asking questions to assess symptoms
- Actively listening to the child
- Discussing goals and what to expect from therapy going forward
For the most part, the first pediatric counseling session will likely focus on building trust and rapport between the therapist and the client.
Many of the activities that can help adults with depression also help children. These include:
- Getting regular physical activity
- Prioritizing a nutritious diet
- Setting up play dates and social opportunities
- Establishing a healthy bedtime routine
- Trying relaxation exercises, such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, or yoga
- Setting limits on social media usage
- Making time for family activities, such as working on puzzles together, going for family walks, and eating meals together
In addition to these self-help strategies, do what you can to create an inviting, warm, and safe environment in the home. It’s also a good idea to schedule an appointment with their pediatrician and consider cognitive behavioral therapy.
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