Helping children build self-esteem and resiliency through a strength-based approach to child therapy
Increasing children's confidence to manage emotional challenges and complex social interactions through reinforcement of their unique knowledges and abilities
With my specialization in child therapy, I am very familiar with the way helplessness and negative self-concept can result when children are faced with sadness, anxiety, or intense anger they cannot control. When emotionally overwhelmed, it can be difficult to process and express complex feelings or resolve conflict with peers and family members in a positive way. Sometimes a negative view of themselves and their world becomes a barrier to socializing with others and engaging in the activities they value and enjoy.
I can support your child in resolving emotional and social conflict. Through creative collaboration, we work together to develop a specialized tool box of coping skills that can be used to create positive change. These can include asking for help when needed, effectively processing and sharing feelings, challenging negative thinking with positive self-talk, and learning strategies to manage strong emotions and reign in impulsive behaviors. To help overcome difficult relationships with peers, children might need increased confidence to self-advocate, or to practice specific social skills in order to develop more meaningful friendships and overcome conflicts. Throughout the therapy process, I reinforce and highlight the inherent strengths already present within your child, in order to increase problem solving capacities and the self-assurance to accomplish desired goals. When there is an ongoing focus on children’s unique and special knowledges and abilities, children thrive and begin to use these resources to create a new preferred story for themselves.
A collaborative approach to addressing behavioral concerns for younger children
As a behavioral therapist, I use my training and experience to implement positive reinforcement strategies for younger children. Behavioral therapy can be needed when a child has ongoing struggles following directions, acting out behaviors are common, and negative attention seeking behaviors become the norm. A child’s unresolved frustration and anger can result in aggression toward others, destructive behaviors, and challenges with conflict resolution. Children’s acting out can signify an underlying emotional issue such as anxiety or sadness, to be explored once immediate behavioral concerns have been addressed. Effective anger management strategies to help a child decrease distress and calm down independently can increase a sense of competency, and assist in a child’s ability to solve problems with an improved outcome.
I provide tools for both you and your child in order to more effectively manage challenging tantrum behavior and help decrease resistance to participation in necessary tasks. For example, together we can create an individualized behavior chart that resonates with your child’s interests to increase his or her motivation in the process. We can then find the most manageable way to implement a behavior plan well-suited for your child and family’s needs. Strengthening parenting techniques go hand in hand with your child’s individual therapy treatment. I will work with you to choose the most beneficial approach.
