If you are a parent you know how tricky raising kids can be! They definitely do not come with a manual describing the best way to parent them. Inevitably our kids go through difficult times. Sometimes they snap right out of it, and other times they don’t. Like adults, kids and teens can struggle with anxiety, depression, ADHD, anger and relationship difficulties. If you have a child or teen who is struggling, counseling can be an effective to help them move through it. You don’t have to wonder and wait, with things just getting worse. Here are the three ways counseling can help you and your child:
Learning New Skills
Learning new skills is an important part of the counseling relationship. For example, if your child has difficulty with anxiety, they would benefit from being taught skills to overcome their anxiety. In addition, as a parent you may wonder how to best respond to your child’s anxiety. In this case, it would make sense for your child to learn skills to manage anxiety and for you to learn skills on how to respond to your child’s anxiety. The same is true for other difficulties. Children and teens are able to learn how to better manage their emotions, including, anxiety, anger, depression, and more. They can also learn how to better navigate relationships (including bullying), which are often a source of stress for our kids.
Safe Place to Explore Feelings
As a parent you may hope your child openly communicates with you about most things. We do too! The truth is that even if you have a close relationship with your child, often times there are things they don’t share. As parents, our children typically want to please us and make us proud. By the mere fact that we are their parents, there are just some things they won’t say. Counseling can be a safe place for your child to work through their feelings with a trusted adult.
Strengthen Family Relationships
Our job is to support you and your child so that you will not need to come see us anymore. For many people who come to counseling, strengthening family relationships is important. For older teens this looks different than with a child in kindergarten, but it is important for both. Counselors work to support children and teens in their emotions. They also work to support families and the relationships within them.
Next Steps
If you need support for your child, call us at 720-583-9332 to schedule an appointment or a free 20 minute phone consultation. You can check out the website and sign up for our free report to learn how to reduce stress. When you sign up for the report you will get helpful mental health information in your inbox once a week. We look forward to serving you and supporting your child and family!
Dr. Steffanie Stecker a licensed psychologist and the owner and clinical director of Mountain Vista Psychology, PLLC.
In addition, she is a board certified neurotherapist (BCN E5669) and board certified in QEEG (QEEG-D). Less than 100 people world wide are board certified in QEEG, which indicates competency in reading QEEGs and choosing neurofeedback protocols. Dr. Stecker is passionate about brain based effective therapy and creating a safe relationship for her clients to create change. She loves what she gets to do each day!