Behavioral Issues in Your Child?

Are your child’s behavioral issues getting in the way of them succeeding academically or socially? Is ongoing conflict with your child creating a disconnect in your relationship? Has your child been diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or depression? Or do you suspect your child has an attachment disorder as a result of being adopted or placed in the foster system at a young age?

Perhaps a sense of anxiety is pervasive in your child’s life, preventing them from focusing in school or being able to sleep. Or maybe an incident of bullying has diminished their self-esteem, causing them to lack confidence in themselves or their choices. 

Children are subject to many of the same mental health challenges that arise in adults, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD. These conditions can have painful emotional and physical symptoms, like irritability, long bouts of crying, restlessness, social isolation, and general feelings of unhappiness. Moreover, if a child was presented with challenging circumstances at a young age—such as divorce, bullying, or extended separation from parents—there is an increased likelihood that the child will develop disruptive symptoms and behaviors.  

Maybe you have researched and read every book about child development that could possibly offer insight or solutions to the problems your child faces, but nothing seems to work. As a result, you may have an arsenal of inapplicable information or conflicting viewpoints that keep you from gaining clarity about how to help your child thrive in their school or home environments. 

At Journey Mental Health, our therapists and counselors are experts in child development and can help you better understand what is affecting your child and how to provide them with relief. While you may not feel like you can make a difference in your kid’s life right now, child therapy and coaching with the help of experienced therapists and counselors can give you the skillset needed to help your child reach their full potential. 

From A Young Age, Children Are Confronted With Stressors

If you are struggling with how best to help your child thrive, it’s important to first remember that these challenges are extremely common. As the most diagnosed mental disorder in the United States, anxiety affects both children and adults alike and it can have increasingly detrimental consequences if left untreated from a young age. If your child doesn’t learn the coping mechanisms to manage their anxiety, they could be more likely to develop chronic pain, low self-esteem, and depression as they get older. 

Moreover, in times of disruption and uncertainty, anxiety is more likely to manifest in children. In the context of a “normal” or “typical” upbringing, children are already subjected to a lot of transition—from adjusting to the expectations at school as a young student to undergoing the physical transformations taking place during adolescence. It makes sense that they would develop anxieties in response to changing stimuli. But add a trauma, a big upset, or collective disruptions caused by a global pandemic or other emergencies, and anxiety almost becomes a certainty in a child’s life. 

It doesn’t help, either, that the current generation of children is more likely to suffer from forms of online bullying and ridicule. From a young age, children are now wired to think in terms of hashtags and “likes,” skewing their sense of themselves and of their reality. Studies have shown that the highest instances of cyberbullying take place during primary school, as children transition into adolescence, contradicting the preconception that cyberbullying only becomes a problem in high school.

Unfortunately, children often don’t have the language or vocabulary to express themselves or their emotions. As such, kids as young as two or three might lash out due to the frustration they have in not being able to communicate their needs. 

While these behaviors can cause significant problems at home or at school, we can provide resources for your child and your family that can be used to regulate emotions and develop healthy coping skills.

Therapy Can Help Your Child Develop Coping Mechanisms And Positive Behaviors

At Journey Mental Health, our team of trained therapists and counselors is prepared to work with children as young as two to help them gain the vocabulary they need to express their emotions, as well as coach you on how to de-escalate conflict and engage with your child in a more productive way. 

Using interactive and play therapy methods, our counselors can help your child find relief from anxiety and distress. Depending on the needs of your child, our team will identify the best modality for treatment while providing you with your own toolbox along the way. 

If, for example, your child is age two through seven with demonstrated behavioral issues, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) can be used as a coaching method for both parents and children. PCIT uses a manualized set of guidelines for each and every session and incorporates the parent into treatment so that you can apply the therapeutic skill set you gained at home. 

Play therapy, as a more general alternative, is intended for children up to twelve who may be struggling with anxiety, depression, or various troubles in school. This approach uses toys and the central premise that children communicate through play. By physically getting on their level and using other means for creating a safe space, this approach will help your child to be honest, open, and vulnerable in ways that rigidity and authoritarianism are unlikely to foster.  

Regardless of the method we use in helping your child find relief from symptoms of emotional distress and disruptive behaviors, we aim to normalize the issues that are causing turmoil in your child’s life while teaching them to manage their emotions. Furthermore, we will assist you in regulating your child’s behaviors by providing psychoeducation about their development while guiding you in positive attention techniques. With the guidance of a skilled child therapist, your whole family will be equipped for success when stress or conflict arises in the future. 

Parenting is not easy, and neither is growing up. But with the right tools and techniques, you and your child can learn to manage stress and unhealthy behaviors and live in harmony once again. 

It is possible to help your child learn how to process their emotions in a way that brings you closer instead of farther apart. And the sooner you take the opportunity to relearn your relationship with your child through therapy, the more likely they are to thrive and live up to their full potential. 

Set Your Child Up For Success Now And In The Future 

If your child struggles with depression, anxiety, or behavioral issues that are causing disruptions, child therapy at Journey Mental Health can help to foster effective coping mechanisms and heal your relationship. To find out more about our team and to schedule an appointment, contact us or call (423) 521-5678 today.