Child Counselling
Reclaim & Rise Counselling offers child counselling online and in-person in the Stratford area.
What is Child Counselling?
Child counselling is a clinical practice that involves dealing with children of any age. This includes toddlers, early adolescents, and late teens.
Some of the most common reasons children may come into therapy include:
Abuse
Developmental delays
Learning disorders
Divorce
Peer pressure
Bullying
Mental illness
Changing environments (houses/schools)
Children are sensitive and can’t always understand everything going on inside. Child counsellors are trained to help children make sense of these difficult experiences.
Your child deserves early support, and that’s what we’re here to offer.
Let us walk you through the process of child counselling and how it can make a big difference.
What To Expect During Child Counselling
Child counselling sessions are 50 minutes in duration and the frequency can vary depending on the need of the child.
Child counsellors attempt to gain an insight into the mental world of kids. This is done slowly and gradually. One of the most common and successful ways to do this is through play therapy.
However, depending on the age of the child, traditional talk therapy can be preferred.
Children usually reenact what they can’t articulate through play, and this allows therapists to understand their thinking processes.
Your child’s counsellor may also involve family members like parents or siblings in your child’s therapy sessions if it will benefit the child’s treatment and healing.
It’s also common for them to conduct interviews with family members to gain a deeper understanding of the child’s behaviour.
Benefits of Child Counselling
Child therapy is a critical form of early intervention that can have powerful effects. Here are some of the most important reasons why you should consider therapy for your child:
It creates a safe space for children
Children who are subject to forms of trauma like abuse or grief often find it hard to share what they feel. This may stem from complicated emotions like guilt, shame, and the thought that no one will understand them.
Child counsellors create a safe and healthy environment for children to openly express these concerns. This may also help them learn about the importance of opening up to their parents or siblings in the future.
It helps them process complicated feelings
Because children are in their formative years, certain experiences can become too difficult or overwhelming for them to process. They have no idea how to make sense of these feelings and how or who to communicate them to.
Child counselling allows kids to discover what these experiences mean and deal with the feelings they bring up. They are also encouraged to ask more questions which helps them better understand their feelings.
It can prevent further issues in adulthood
Childhood experiences have a strong bearing on the kinds of adults we become. Children who live with the unresolved trauma of abuse, neglect, or loss, are likely to carry the effects and complications of this into adulthood.
This can impact their views about themselves and others. The trauma is so deep-rooted by then, that it becomes difficult to process and treat. It’s not impossible, but it’s hard.
That’s why children’s therapy is beneficial because it can help kids deal with their trauma in its early developmental stages. This can prevent the trauma from following them into adulthood.
It validates all of their experiences
As adults, we sometimes tend to minimize or overlook children’s experiences. Sometimes a child may be upset about something that an adult dismisses as unimportant.
Children internalize this and start to view their problems as unworthy of attention. They might completely stop opening up about their feelings.
Child counselling helps children find a space where all feelings and thoughts are welcome. We teach children that everything they feel is valid. This makes them feel heard and important.
*Note on parental consent: Please be advised that parental consent is required (from both parents in the case of a divorce or separation) for children aged 12 or younger to receive counselling services.
Reach Out To Us
Reclaim & Rise Counselling houses compassionate clinicians who offer effective child counselling, and are passionate about strengthening family units.
Located in the beautiful Orchard Treatment & Wellness Center at 4012 Perth Rd #107, Shakespeare Ontario, we are local to Stratford, Tavistock, New Hamburg, and the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Our clinicians also offer remote therapy across Ontario so that you can access the support you need - no matter where you are!
To get started you can fill out a contact form, call (226) 215-4244, or book an appointment online with one of our counsellors by clicking below.
We’re looking forward to supporting you and your little ones!