How do I tell my child that we are going to a therapy appointment?
How involved will parents be in the process?
How does therapy work for young people?
Can a child be traumatized by just attending therapy in the first place?
Will the parents be told what the kids say in therapy sessions?
Will my child get a diagnosis or label that will affect their future?
How long will my child be in therapy?
How do I tell my child that we are going to a therapy appointment?
I usually suggest that parents say that counselors are a lot like tutors, coaches, and teachers. That this person (the counselor) can teach them skills that will help them with their feelings, and that you think it might actually be fun.
How involved will parents be in the process?
A portion of every session is earmarked for a “parent check in”. Periodically we will have full hour parent meetings, and sometimes it’s necessary to have a whole family, sibling sub group, or mother/child : father/child meeting. Some parents prefer email updates. I often read these before our next session, so that I can be fully caught up without cutting into the child’s therapy time. It’s a bit fluid, depending on the needs of the family.
How does therapy work for young people?
Kids often “decompress” by being able to unload with a neutral, supportive adult. They will learn skills and strategies to deal with the situations that brought them into therapy. Sometimes they will go home with CBT worksheets, you may learn as a family how to conduct “an exposure” for anxiety/OCD. Oftentimes kids learn while doing a fun activity such as building Legos, playing board games, painting fingernails, or arts and crafts. Basically child and adolescent therapy is a developmentally appropriate version of adult psychotherapy embedded into a fun activity.
Can a child be traumatized by just attending therapy in the first place?
Great question! We are all trained in how NOT to. I often use non-clinical language, and avoid labels. I never want a kid to leave my office and feel like there’s anything wrong with them, or that it was a weird guinea pig-ish experience. Oftentimes, while walking out the door, I hear kids telling their parents, “That was fun!”
Will the parents be told what the kids say in therapy sessions?
What is said in a therapy session is confidential, with the exception of safety issues. I cannot repeat what your children say, but I can give an overview of the lesson plan for the session. I often will encourage the kids to tell their parents as a way of reinforcing the lesson. For example : I will often say, “Janie learned all about _______ today, be looking for her to use really great communication skills when _______ happens.”
Will my child get a diagnosis or label that will affect their future?
A psychological diagnosis was originally intended to be a root cause guideline to specifically target therapeutic interventions. A diagnosis was meant to be a way to understand that person, not label them. Our insurance industry pretty much demands to know what a person’s diagnosis is, and then this becomes part of the kid’s permanent medical record. That’s the number one reason that I am private pay only. I actually worked with a brilliant kid who grew up to work for a major governmental agency. Because they had seen a therapist (me) as a child, they lost their job. I will never forget this. That’s a very long answer for “NO!”
How long will my child be in therapy?
Therapy isn’t a race, and kids can need to work in a slower, more deliberate way. I will often work with a kid for a chunk of sessions, and then start to spread out our meetings until they are popping in on an “as needed” basis. It’s not uncommon for kids to come in years later, and I love meeting with kids before they leave for college! Knowing your child’s vulnerabilities, personality, and capabilities, I can pretty accurately anticipate what could cause them to get derailed their first year of college. Although therapy isn’t meant for the rest of your life, my commitment is. I have been a counselor long enough that I am actually counseling my former client’s children! I guess that makes me a grand-therapist LOL!
Do you accept insurance?
I do not. I supply coded invoice “super bills” that you can submit to your insurance for reimbursement for any “out of network” benefits. Please re-read diagnosis and labeling to fine tune your decision