Psychotherapy with Children, Adolescents, & Young Adults
Tailored Approaches & Collaborative Goals
It is difficult to describe what psychologists do in psychotherapy in just a few sentences. There are many different methods that I may use to deal with the concerns that need addressing. Different approaches are appropriate depending on the age of the child and whether they live at home and are just beginning to do new activities and attend school, or are old enough to be living away at college or have finished school.
Because psychotherapy, unlike a visit to a medical doctor, calls for an active effort on the part of the child/adolescent and sometimes other members of the family, we start by identifying difficulties and goals together and then check back in on those goals throughout the appointments.
I find that therapy can be the most successful when the child and parents, and sometimes teachers, have tasks or topics to take away from the appointment to practice. Typically appointments have a weekly cadence for the first three to eight weeks with scheduled appointments of 45 to 50 minutes duration. After that time as improvements occur, and to allow sufficient time for interventions to be practiced, we may meet every other week or once a month until treatment is complete.
In work with children and adolescents, there is a balance between the need for trust in therapy and parents’ rights to information. I handle this by involving parents and children in setting treatment goals so that everyone knows what to expect and how to track progress. I provide general feedback regularly and include parents directly in the appointments as appropriate.
Frequent Benefits:
- Solutions to specific problems and concerns
- Reduced symptoms as well as decreased feelings of upset and stress
- Improved communication and relationships within families and often also with peers and teachers
- Increased confidence and self advocacy
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