Many children struggle with behavior at home and at school, whether it be due to impulsivity, hyperactivity, a tendency towards intense emotions, a poor grasp of social norms and/or reactivity to negative social interactions, difficult adjustment to changes in the family, or anxiety and depression symptoms.
Therapy can help children, teens and their families to learn skills to improve their moods, self image, attitudes and behaviors. They can learn to better understand their impulses, triggers, and warning signs of difficult emotions. This learning can help them to identify alternative behaviors in order to "respond" rather than "react" to situations.
In my practice I teach emotion awareness and emotion regulation skills through interactive exercises and games fitting the age of the child. I have found that the more we know about our emotions, the better able we may be to respond appropriately when our emotions are triggered. I teach body awareness and mindfulness skills to improve our ability to sense when we are being triggered and to take appropriate action early on rather than waiting until we reach a boiling point.
I also teach social skills, perspective taking, and ways to more effectively manage interactions with peers and family members. I spend time with the child or adolescent individually as well as parent-child sessions and parent-only sessions to work on skill building and improving the relationships to aid in making progress on multiple levels.