Seeing your child struggle emotionally, socially, or academically can be extremely upsetting and frustrating. It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether what your child is experiencing is just a phase or something more concerning that requires professional child therapy services near you. Being a child or teenager in today's world comes with multiple stressors, from academic pressure and learning difficulties to social media challenges, peer pressure, and trying to fit in at school. And let's face it, most teens try their hardest to avoid talking to their parents about mental health concerns. Having a third party licensed child therapist or adolescent counselor that your child can talk to with confidence can help them learn to find their voice, manage their emotions and anxiety symptoms, develop healthy coping skills for depression, and navigate through life's difficulties including bullying, family conflict, and behavioral issues. I strive to create a compassionate and non-judgmental space for child and teen counseling in Cary, Raleigh, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and Wilmington NC so that every voice can be heard.
Is Your Child Right For Therapy?
In short, the answer is yes. Child therapy and adolescent counseling can be beneficial for just about anyone seeking youth mental health support. Whether it's to learn new and effective coping skills for anxiety and stress, increase motivation for school performance and academic achievement, improve social skills and peer relationships, or help navigate difficult social situations and friendship problems, we could all use extra support from a qualified pediatric mental health professional. Children and teens are also experiencing more symptoms related to childhood anxiety disorders, teenage depression, ADHD and attention problems, autism spectrum concerns, and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) than ever before, and individual therapy for kids and teens can help them learn how to manage and navigate these new emotions, behavioral challenges, emotional regulation difficulties, and mental health symptoms.
Common Signs Your Child is Struggling:
- Increased isolation, social withdrawal from friends and family activities
- Poor school performance, declining grades, academic struggles, trouble concentrating
- Lack of enjoyment of activities they previously loved, loss of interest in hobbies
- Increased irritation, mood swings, anger outbursts, defiant behavior
- Avoidant behavior, refusing school attendance, separation anxiety
- Heightened emotions, excessive worrying, panic attacks, emotional meltdowns
Our goal at Fresh Breath Therapy is to help your child navigate through life's challenges with evidence-based child and adolescent therapy techniques. Whether dealing with school stress and test anxiety, interpersonal conflicts with peers or siblings, divorce adjustment and co-parenting issues, grief and loss, self-esteem problems, body image concerns, identity exploration, or family issues and parent-teen conflict, our licensed child therapists and adolescent counselors in North Carolina provide a safe, confidential, and supportive therapeutic space for children and teens to explore their feelings, develop healthy coping strategies for mental health challenges, build resilience and emotional strength, and increase their confidence and self-worth.
Our Approach
I utilize a variety of child-friendly therapeutic modalities and evidence-based treatment approaches that are effective in helping young clients navigate their complex worlds. These modalities can be tailored to fit your child's age, developmental needs, and specific presenting concerns:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT for children and teens, is a more traditional approach to therapy that helps individuals understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions, and how inaccurate perceptions can impact mood and behaviors. CBT for anxiety in children, CBT for teenage depression, and CBT for behavioral problems promotes identifying distorted thinking patterns, negative self-talk, and implementing more effective thinking strategies, problem-solving skills, and behavioral modifications that improve mental health outcomes.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR therapy for children and adolescents is a highly effective trauma therapy designed to help people recover from childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD in teens, anxiety disorders in youth, and depression following traumatic events. This therapy emphasizes the brain's ability to heal from psychological trauma, just as the body recovers from physical trauma. It has been shown to provide relief from symptoms related to childhood trauma and PTSD in adolescents, such as flashbacks and intrusive memories, nightmares and sleep disturbances, avoidance strategies and emotional numbing, substance abuse in teens, self-harm behaviors, and more trauma-related symptoms.
Strength-Based Perspective
This positive psychology approach helps children and teens utilize their existing strengths, talents, and resilience to overcome challenges and navigate life's transitions such as moving to a new school, family changes, or entering adolescence. It helps them assess and identify their strengths, build on their capabilities, and apply them to make effective decisions and solve problems. Discussing one's strengths in child therapy sessions can also lead to increased motivation for change, improved self-esteem and confidence, positive identity development, and a growth mindset.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing is a youth-centered counseling method that helps children and teenagers find the motivation to change their behaviors, improve school performance, reduce risky behaviors, and address mental health concerns by addressing insecurities, negative feelings about themselves, and ambivalence about change. It is centered around the belief that you hold the power and capabilities to change within yourself, empowering young people to take ownership of their mental health journey and treatment goals.