You’re worried that your child is emotionally delayed.
They seem to be less emotionally mature than what you would expect for their actual age.
Your child’s behaviors cause problems at home and at school, and they affect your entire family.
If you feel like your kid has a hard time handling their emotions, relating with others, focusing, or other concerning behaviors, early intervention is key! The earlier children get therapy to learn tools to handle their emotions, the more likely they are to practice them before more unsafe coping behaviors are introduced during adolescents. Plus, when mental health struggles are normalized early on, kids carry less shame about themselves. This means they will be better prepared to navigate life’s ups and downs as they grow!
What does anxiety look like in children?
Any of these signs may mean your child is struggling with anxiety or other troubling emotions. Early intervention and child therapy will be helpful if your child struggles with the following behaviors:
Frequent tantrums- Difficulty with transitions
- Frustration when making mistakes
- Quickness to give-up in challenges
- Lack of flexibility to change
- Perfectionism
- Controlling friends or siblings during play
- Trouble sleeping
- Separation anxiety with parents or attachment objects past appropriate age (ie: blanket, dolls, favorite shirt, etc)
- Frequent complaints of sickness (headaches or stomachaches) despite medical issues being ruled out
What to Expect When You Start Child Therapy
Kiddos figure out how to interact with the world through DOING, not thinking or talking. Therefore we must DO activities in therapy to create a healing experience. Play therapy focuses on experiential relating, then using that relationship to transform mental health. During play therapy, we use board games, art projects, sometimes even sports games to play and get energy out while also learning. A child therapist will teach your child self-regulation skills using age-appropriate examples. For example, they may teach your child how to breathe deeply by teaching them about belly breathing.
When working with children, the parents are an important collaborative part of the process. You are a source of information for your child’s therapist. And, you’re a link between therapy and home life. It’s important that you assist your child in practicing the skills they learned during their counseling session. Depending on your child’s age and circumstance, parents may be asked to join for 10-15 minutes at the end of each session.
A note about diagnoses:
Our therapists tend not to diagnose* children who come to us for therapy. With little ones, it is so hard to figure out what is developmental, what could be familial or environmental, what could be due to an adjustment happening in their life, or what is biological. If we believe a diagnosis is necessary to guide appropriate treatment, your therapist may recommend psychological testing or a psychiatry consultation.
* If you are submitting receipts to your insurance provider for reimbursement, we will give a preliminary diagnosis for insurance purposes only.
At your first visit, you will immediately see that our office is set up to feel like a homey environment. Our waiting room feels like a large foyer and each treatment space feels like a living room. We are NOT a sterile doctor’s office! We want your child to feel comfortable and safe and not stigmatized for being with us.
Don’t surprise your child with a therapy appointment. If you don’t know how to talk with them about it, learn how to talk to your child about starting therapy here.
What parents have said their child therapy experience
She was excellent with our child. She helped our child reach our goals for him towards managing his emotions/behaviors.”
My daughter loves [her therapist] and looks forward to therapy. We have heard some bits and pieces of the work that is being done through conversations. Our daughter will say “[my therapist] said this” or “we are working on that”.
It definitely seems like the trials and hurdles our daughter experiences are seemingly more tolerated or at east not as disruptive and debilitating. She seems more open and more positive.
Begin child therapy for your children so they get the help they need to succeed!
We want to help you and your child understand their emotions and learn how to deal with the big emotions that may be causing disruptions at school, at home, or during play. Follow these steps to begin counseling in Rockville, MD:
- Contact Montgomery County Counseling Center
- Schedule a call with our client care coordinator to match your child (or you) with one of our skilled child therapists and find out more about therapy for children.
- Begin child counseling and watch your child thrive!
Other Services Offered at Montgomery County Counseling Center in Rockville, MD
Montgomery County Counseling Center offers a variety of therapy services in Rockville, MD which is near Washington DC or Olney MD which is near Howard County. We want to help you change your behaviors to live the life you want! Our counseling services include dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), parent coaching, family therapy, teen therapy, adult therapy, and couples counseling. Our sister company offer an online parenting class for parents of struggling teens or young adults. We are offering all our counseling services either in person or via online therapy in Maryland and Washington DC. Also, some of our therapists offer supervision opportunities for mental health professionals seeking their professional license. Reach out to our therapy clinic to learn more about the many ways we can help you or your family heal and thrive.
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