doubts, distress, and worries- OH MY!
One of my specialties as a licensed mental health counselors is cognitive behavioral health or CBT for short. I have done countless training courses and continuing education and have supervised many people utilizing CBT over the past 10 years, and it’s my go to tool for a lot of kids. Basically, CBT is teaching kids and grown ups how their thoughts, feelings and behaviors all work together for either good or bad.
CBT is evidenced based and is great for all ages as we can tailor it to fit your child or adolescent. We incorporate art, games, dress up, role plays and other activities to teach the skills of emotional regulation that lead to being in control of their feelings. CBT can be used for a variety of issues you may be noticing or working on with your child. Anxiety, depression, behavioral issues and trauma are all things we can address and help your child to develop skills to help feel calmer, more successful and more in control.
Some of the things you may notice in your child/adolescent/teen may not fit your idea of anxiety or depression, but anxiety is actually the most common problem for children and when we address fears and doubts, other behaviors and issues fall into place. Things you might notice are:
Feelings: Fear, anxiety, tension, irritability, panic, worry, nervousness, somatization.
Thoughts: Unhelpful/unrealistic or inaccurate/untrue fears or worries (can be extreme or irrational).
Behavior: Avoidance, withdrawal, clinginess, separation refusal, regression, rituals, self-harm.
With CBT, we can help! There is hope, you’re not alone and this treatment works. Please let us know if we can help you and your family. The link below will send you to a helpful article on kids and worrying.
