Child Counseling
Helping Children Grow, Heal, and Shine in Livermore and Across California Online
Are You Concerned About Your Child’s Emotional Or Behavioral Development?
Have you read all the books and educated yourself on how to be the best parent possible, but still feel like you’re always falling short? Despite your knowledge and the longing to support your child unconditionally, do you still find yourself easily getting frustrated, angry, or emotionally reactive?
Perhaps you’re secretly worried that you’ll be judged for their behavior—as if it’s an accurate reflection of who you are as a person or caregiver.
Alternatively, maybe you’re aware that your child’s sadness, fear, or anxiety comes from a deeper place, and you’re hoping that counseling can help them heal and develop the grit needed to thrive on their own.
Children, Unfortunately, Do Not Come With Instruction Manuals
Life would certainly be a lot easier if they did because all parents, even the most dedicated ones, eventually find themselves at a loss for how to best support their kids. The trepidation of going to school, the defiant behavior in class, the meltdowns at home, the difficulty socializing with peers or getting along with siblings—all of these challenges can trick parents into feeling lost and powerless.
At Wonderment Family Therapy, we understand that you want to be able to connect with your child and empower them to grow into their best self—and that’s why we’re here. Working with one of our counselors, your child can safely explore their internal experiences and express themselves in a way that helps them heal, build resilience, and ultimately become more autonomous and self-regulated.
Have questions or want to schedule a consultation? Reach out today, we’re here to help.
Parents Can’t Be Expected To Do It All
Our society puts a ton of pressure on parents, especially moms, to perform. We’re expected to be flawless caregivers, educators, cheerleaders, doctors, and even child psychologists for our kids—but society has it wrong. Children don’t need us to perform with excellence or perfection; they need our emotional availability, understanding, and our curiosity.
We are also tricked into thinking that, as parents, we are inherently “doing something wrong,” but it’s not a doing problem; it’s a being problem. When we take time to care for ourselves—when we tend to our own wounds, learn to self-regulate, and become more connected to the present, we are able to give our children greater access to the best parts of our selves.
Then, Why The Need For Child Counseling?
Again, society sends us messages that we have to do it all, including serving as our children’s therapists. However, most parents—no matter how well-educated or informed—are not equipped to interpret and understand the unspoken meaning behind their kids’ behavior.
For instance, anxiety can manifest as a refusal to go to school or get ready in the mornings. ADHD in children is often misconstrued as defiance or laziness, while some kids actually get misdiagnosed with ADHD because they’re simply gifted.
Understanding what’s truly going on beneath the surface of a child’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors is key to helping them heal and grow, but you don’t have to do that on your own. Whatever your child is going through, our therapists are specially trained to meet kids on their level, speaking their natural language to facilitate deep and lasting change.
Counseling for Children Works To Meet Kids Where They Are
When adults are in pain or struggling, we have the benefit of language and words to help us articulate our experiences, whereas children oftentimes do not. For kids, toys become their words and play their language—it’s how they naturally express their inner worlds.
Our counselors are specially trained to speak that language, using play therapy to get on a child’s level rather than expecting kids to rise to ours. More importantly, play therapy gives kids a natural, non-verbal medium for expressing their feelings and experiences in a way that is articulable and supportive of their inner worlds.
How Does Therapy For Children Work?
Before we begin working with your child, we’ll first meet with you to get your perspective on things. We’ll talk about your concerns, where you’re seeing your child struggle, and what you’re hoping to achieve through counseling.
After getting an idea of their strengths and difficulties, we’ll develop a treatment plan that involves:
- Weekly play therapy sessions for the child
- Parent check-in sessions every four to six weeks
- Possible parent-child or family sessions to explore and enhance relational dynamics
Although we’ll occasionally provide updates and/or parent-child sessions, we typically work exclusively with the child following the first session. Because children inherently know what they need to express in order to heal and grow, various themes we can work with will emerge through play, such as power, nurture, grief, and loss, etc. Therefore, we tend to follow their lead in sessions.
Our Approach To Counseling For Children
The unifying factor in all of our work is our focus on creating a healthy child-therapist relationship, as the therapeutic relationship is central to children’s healing and growth. Child-centered play therapy also works best when kids feel safe and comfortable in their environment, so we’ve constructed our therapeutic spaces accordingly.
We have two main “play rooms:” one designed for three- to eight-year-olds and another for six- to ten-year-olds—each equipped with developmentally appropriate toys. Oftentimes, we’ll use:
- Sand-Tray Therapy and miniatures as a way to help kids represent what is going on in their inner worlds.
- Expressive Arts Therapy, incorporating music, dance, painting, or dress up into sessions to give children a non-verbal means of communicating their thoughts and feelings.
- Gestalt play therapy, which utilizes art, toys, and movement to help kids become more fully integrated, self-regulated, resilient, and connected in their relationships.
Additionally, all of our counselors understand attachment theory, which seeks to enhance parenting skills, reduce problematic behaviors in children, and strengthen the parent-child relationship.
You Don’t Have To Figure This Out On Your Own
If you feel lost, frustrated, or defeated right now, we are here on this journey with you—and we can help. By giving your child a safe space to be themselves and communicate in a language that is their own, they can grow and change in amazing ways.
Instead of being controlled by fear and trepidation, children learn that vulnerability can be a strength. They learn how to pursue excellence with the willingness to be imperfect, and they learn how to be resilient even in the face of failure and adversity.
With that increased psychological flexibility, kids are more willing to try new things. They have a greater capacity for regulating their emotions and acting autonomously—and parents gain insight that can help them view their child in a different, more compassionate light.
Still Have Questions/Concerns About Child Counseling?
How involved are parents in therapy for children?
For kids to get the most out of child counseling, it’s important that we honor their confidentiality and work with them one-on-one throughout the process. However, every four to six weeks, we’ll schedule a time to meet with you for an update where we can discuss general play themes that come up in counseling as well as what you can do to better support your child at home.
How does billing work?
We accept payment in full at the time of your appointment. If you have out-of-network insurance benefits, we provide a superbill — an itemized receipt with the information your insurer needs — which you can submit directly to your insurance provider for reimbursement. We’re happy to answer questions about the superbill itself, but we’re not able to submit claims or manage communication with your insurance company on your behalf.
How long does child counseling take to produce results?
Because each child and situation is different, we can’t provide a time estimate for how long therapy will take. However, research shows that incorporating parents into the therapeutic process increases positive outcomes, so we always welcome parents into sessions whenever the client feels comfortable. Additionally, meeting weekly ensures that we get off to a strong start, keep sessions going at a consistent pace, and maximize the benefits of therapy.
Let Us Help You Carry The Load
If you’ve tried everything to support your child’s development on your own—the endless self-help books, parenting classes, and online videos—but still can’t break through, we want to help. Our team at Wonderment Family Therapy encourages you to schedule your free, 15-minute video consultation by using our booking page. If you’d like to be contacted by phone, please indicate that and leave your number as well.
Wonderment Family Therapy provides online and in-person child counseling services in Livermore and throughout California.
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