Family Counselors Serving Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Has your child been displaying major mood swings, severe anxiety, a lack of focus, drastic weight loss, and continual headaches or tummy aches? If so, these are just a few signs that your child may be developing a mental health condition. These not-so-subtle changes in your child’s behavior may have even prompted you to seek the advice of a few of your closest friends or family who have possibly assured you that your son or daughter is going through a typical phase. Even though that can be true, it is hard to decipher a short-term phase from something more serious and long-term. There is certainly nothing wrong with talking to those you trust as well as doing your own research, or even taking a free “Does my child need counseling?” quiz online, but it is also important to go with your gut as a parent and consult a professional mental health expert.

So, if you have ever said, ‘Should my child see a therapist or psychologist?’ even if just to yourself, seeking a child psychologist near you may be a good idea. It definitely is better to know if the behavior your child has been showcasing to those around him or her is turning into something that should be more concerning or not, which is what our professional child therapists at Mountain Vista Psychology are trained to find out.   

Highlands Ranch, Colorado Family Counseling Psychologist

Specializing in child counseling, we have child therapists and adolescent therapy providers on our staff that work with patients who suffer from, but not limited to:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Eating disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder
• Disruptive behaviors
• School and social issues

Rest assured that we will work with your child to determine any underlying causes of what is going on and determine the best steps moving forward.  We may also investigate other possible causes for your child’s behavior, such as a history of medical conditions, trauma, family history of mental illness, and will need to know how long your child has been behaving this way, and possibly receive feedback from teachers’. We will work with your child and family to figure out what is going on so we can also determine the path forward so your child can move through this and thrive. 

Types of Child Therapy

Common treatment options for children who have mental health conditions include, but are not limited to:

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): This type of therapy helps improve a child’s moods, anxiety, and behavior by examining unhelpful patterns of thinking. During CBT, a child learns to recognize harmful thought patterns and the therapist then helps the child replace this thinking with thoughts that give way to more appropriate feelings and behaviors. In addition to addressing changes in thoughts, your therapist may help your child learn how to modify his behaviors to improve his mood.  Research shows that CBT can be effective in treating depression and anxiety as well as children coping with traumatic experiences.

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): This is used to treat older adolescents with chronic suicidal thoughts or who self-harm. DBT can be helpful in teaching emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.  This therapy focuses on taking responsibility for one’s problems and helps the teen examine the way they deal with conflict and intense negative feelings.

• Family Therapy: This type of therapy focuses on helping the family function as a unit in more constructive ways by exploring patterns of communication and offering support.

• Play Therapy: For younger children, play is their best form of communication, which is why play therapy involves the use of blocks, dolls, puppets, and drawings to help the child identify and verbalize his or her feelings. The psychotherapist observes how the child uses the toys and identifies themes or patterns to better understand the child’s underlying issues. Through a combination of talk and play the child has an opportunity to more effectively understand and manage their feelings and behavior including anger management.

About Mountain Vista Psychology

At Mountain Vista Psychology in Englewood, CO, we have seen first hand how beneficial it is for your child to have the support of his or her family along with the therapeutic support that we provide. Our family therapists are available to offer parenting support for you whenever you need that.  We also guide you by providing tips on how you to best interact with your child and effectively handle difficult behavior. As always, we believe you should continue finding unique ways to have fun and bond with your child and praising his or her strengths and abilities. We will be with you side by side in our commitment to help your child’s light shine. If you are worried about your child’s mental health, call us for a free consultation at 720-583-9332 and find out more about what we can do for you and your child. You can count on us to consider your child’s mental health a top priority.