How Does Counseling for Children Differ from Counseling for Teens

If you’ve ever wondered what a counseling for children looks like versus what your teen might undergo, we’ve got good news. This article will help you understand:

• Kinds of therapy counseling for teens might offer.
• Types of therapy available for counseling children.
• Markers that differentiate between the two age groups.
• Reasons that children and teens might seek counseling.

Counseling for teens

Teens who undergo counseling have some therapies available to them that young children don’t. This is simply because some of the therapy types are too abstract for young children.

An example of this is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). This type of therapy can especially help teens who struggle with self-harm or suicidal ideation. The concepts of this therapy may be too mature for children’s developmental stage.

In this type of therapy, a teen might explore how he or she deals with conflict and whether or not the emotional landscape is handled healthfully or not. A combination of individual and family counseling can incorporate DBT.

Supportive therapy is also widely used among the teen population; it is used to help teens cope with stress and learn healthier awareness habits.

Types of therapy in counseling for children

While many therapies for teens and children overlap, one that doesn’t typically apply to teens is play therapy. In this, a counselor will use toys, games, and talking to help a child learn how his emotions impact his behaviors.

Children may also start to recognize triggers for negative behavioral patterns and find healthy ways to address these through play. At times, parents may be asked to participate in a family session, or the therapist may meet separately with parents to discuss overall goals and topics that have come up at that point in the child’s therapy journey.

Other kinds of counseling that help children include Parent Child Interactive Therapy. This can be used in conjunction with play therapy so that parents and children who struggle to connect learn how to interact positively together.

When to see a children’s therapist vs. a teen therapist

There is no right answer for at what age you should begin therapy for your child. Some families like to introduce counseling at a young age so that their children are not afraid of going later in life or their teen years.

When a child or teen is engaging in harmful behaviors toward himself or others, it’s important to seek the help of a licensed psychologist. Yet when a child is as young as five or six, he can see a play therapist. Parents can sit in the room with them as onlookers if the child feels more comfortable that way.

At the point that a child is between the ages of seven and nine, he or she can visit a counselor on his or her own. This simply means parents are not requested in the room with the child. They’re often waiting in the waiting room until the session ends.

Teen counseling usually begins around the age of twelve. Teens who might want to talk about friendship issues, struggles with addiction or pornography, or anxiety should reach out to a counselor who specializes in working with students and teens.

Both children and teens might seek counseling for the same kinds of reasons, including emotional dysregulation, anxiety, fear, depression, or feeling alone.

It can be hard to admit when you think your child or teen is dealing with mental health struggles, but we care. Contact our offices and we will match your child or teen with a qualified, licensed counselor.