Child & Teen Therapy in North Carolina

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 When your child is struggling, it can be difficult to know what they need—or where to begin. Changes in mood, anxiety, behavior, friendships, school performance, or family relationships may be signs that your child could benefit from additional support. 

 Children and teens don't always have the words to explain what is wrong. Sometimes distress shows up as changes in behavior, withdrawal, irritability, difficulty at school, conflict at home, or simply seeming different from the child you know.

Parents may seek therapy when their child or teen is experiencing anxiety, depression, difficulty managing emotions, behavioral concerns, school problems, friendship or social difficulties, family changes, grief, trauma, low self-esteem, or other challenges that are interfering with daily life.

You don't have to know exactly what is wrong before reaching out. Part of our role is helping you understand what may be contributing to the changes you are seeing and determining what kind of support may be most helpful.

Children and teens experience and communicate emotions differently than adults, and therapy should reflect that. Depending on your child's age and needs, sessions may include conversation, play, art, sandtray, movement, games, creative activities, or other experiential approaches.

For younger children, play can provide a natural way to express feelings and experiences that may be difficult to put into words. As children grow, therapy evolves with them. Teens may benefit from a combination of conversation and experiential approaches that help them explore emotions, relationships, identity, coping skills, and the challenges they are facing.

Some children and teens come to us after trying therapy before without really engaging. Maybe they were reluctant to go, didn't want to talk, or spent weeks or even months saying very little in sessions. That doesn't mean therapy can't work for them.

Our clinicians are highly skilled at working with children and teens who are hesitant or resistant to therapy. Rather than expecting a young person to engage in a particular way, we meet them where they are. 

Our clinicians use creativity, humor, activities, movement, shared interests, and other approaches to build connection and help young people become comfortable participating in the therapeutic process.

Building trust comes first. We don't expect every child or teen to walk into therapy ready to talk. We work to create a relationship where they feel respected, understood, and increasingly willing to let us into their world.

Children and teens come to therapy for many different reasons. Some are experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, while others are struggling with relationships, school, behavior, family changes, or simply feeling overwhelmed by the demands of growing up.

Our clinicians work with children and teens experiencing concerns including:

• Anxiety and fears 
• Depression and mood changes 
• Emotional regulation and intense emotions 
• ADHD and executive functioning challenges 
• Behavioral concerns 
• School stress, avoidance, or refusal 
• Friendship and social difficulties 
• Low self-esteem and confidence 
• Grief and loss 
• Trauma and difficult life experiences 
• Family changes and conflict 
• Self-harm and suicidal thoughts 
• Body image and eating concerns 
• Life transitions and adjustment difficulties 

Therapy is individualized to the young person in front of us. A diagnosis may help us understand part of what is happening, but it never defines the child or determines everything about how we work with them.

Therapy with a child or teen doesn't happen in isolation. Parents often have important information about what is happening at home, at school, and in other parts of their child's life. At the same time, children and teens need a therapeutic relationship where they can develop trust and feel comfortable talking openly.

How parents are involved depends on the child's age, needs, and treatment goals. At times, a parent may join part or all of a session. In other situations, the clinician may meet primarily with the child or teen while checking in with parents separately.

We work to balance a young person's need for privacy with parents' need to understand how they can support their child. When appropriate, clinicians may help parents better understand what their child is experiencing, identify patterns that may be contributing to difficulties, and learn ways to reinforce progress outside of therapy.

We aren't only working with your child for one hour a week. We want to help create changes that carry into home, school, relationships, and everyday life.

No two children or teens are exactly alike, even when they are struggling with similar concerns. The approach that works well for one young person may not be the approach that helps another.

Our clinicians draw from a variety of evidence-based and experiential approaches based on each child's age, needs, personality, strengths, and treatment goals. Therapy may incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills, play therapy, sandtray therapy, expressive and creative activities, movement, mindfulness, trauma-informed approaches, and other interventions.

We also pay attention to how your child engages best. For some young people, that means talking. For others, meaningful therapeutic work may happen while creating something, moving, playing a game, working in the sandtray, or interacting with one of our therapy animal partners.

The goal isn't to make your child fit a particular type of therapy. It's to find ways of working that help us connect with your child and help your child make meaningful progress.

Sometimes a child or teen needs more support than traditional weekly therapy can provide. Symptoms may be becoming more severe, safety concerns may be increasing, or a young person may be struggling to function at school, at home, or in relationships despite ongoing treatment.

Because our practice offers multiple levels and types of care, we can help families consider what may be needed next. Depending on the situation, that might include a psychological evaluation, medication management, more frequent therapy, family support, or a higher level of care such as our Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

When additional services are appropriate, our goal is to help families understand their options rather than leaving them to figure out the next step on their own.