Child Therapy at MindWell NYC

Does your child throw tantrums or refuse to listen?

Is it difficult for your child to manage their emotions when plans change or when something doesn’t go their way? Perhaps your child has trouble listening to other adults or to you. Or maybe your child is acting out in the classroom. Are you concerned because your child has gotten in trouble at school? Does your child have difficulty doing homework? Does your child seem down or not want to participate in activities they used to enjoy? Perhaps your child is having difficulty in social situations. Has your child stopped spending time with friends? Are they getting stuck by competing often with others in school? Does your child have trouble making or keeping friends?

Many children have difficulty understanding what they are feeling or how to manage their emotions. When this happens, they often behave in problematic ways to manage what they are experiencing. For example, when feeling anxious, many children have difficulty focusing in the classroom, which can result in their grades not being as high as their potential. It might be that your child is spending a lot of time worrying. Or perhaps your child seems wired all the time or tired, exhausted, and having low energy. Whatever your child may be struggling with, it may be important for your child to learn skills to better manage their emotions and behavior at home, at school, and in social contexts. You may be experiencing a strong desire to get them the help they need.

Many children experience these problems.

As children move through their process of development, many challenges occur. Whether or not it is noticeable or whether or not others are talking about it, many parents begin to notice changes in their child. As children have more demanding experiences, some children may experience emotions with more intensity and/or reactivity than others. In addition, it may take some children a long time to return to their ‘baseline’ or their ‘average’ emotional state after getting anxious, angry, or frustrated. Children learn from their previous experiences and behaviors and find ways to manage their emotions that may not be helpful longer term. In addition, during the developmental process, children often struggle with their own identity including making decisions about prioritizing parents and/or peers. Some children quickly form relationships with peers and acquire more practice using social skills or strategies, while others have more difficulty.  

Even with all of the wonderful resources available in New York City for kids, it can be an overly stimulating environment that presents with some unique challenges. This can include experiences such as learning to take the subway, managing a packed extracurricular schedule, participating in a rigorous academic program, and having different care providers. All of these potential challenges can be tough for children and can make managing emotions and behaviors effectively very difficult. It is no surprise that given all that they are expected to manage at such early ages in New York City, children can feel stressed, anxious, tired, and have difficulties in family, social, and school situations.

The good news is that even if your child is struggling with feeling anxious, tired, or stressed, it is possible for them to learn new skills and techniques to manage their own emotions and behaviors more effectively. A knowledgeable, experienced, and friendly therapist can help your child to work through their difficulties and become more functional in their lives.

Child Therapy Provides Your Loved One With Structure, Techniques, and Strategies to Be Their Best

Located in a beautifully maintained historic building in Chelsea Manhattan, MindWell NYC provides your child with a comfortable, welcoming, and safe space to discuss their (and your) concerns and to open themselves up to new ways of learning and being. Our team is comprised of compassionate and skilled therapists with an interest and expertise in child therapy work. We offer evidence and skills-based solutions for your child’s challenges in addition to validation, acceptance, and support of where they are today. Given the importance of involving caregivers in therapy work, we will collaborate with you to learn about your child and develop a therapy treatment plan that will support your child and move them towards the change you would like to see.

In their child therapy work, your MindWell NYC therapist will help your child identify the most challenging parts of their life; be it school stress or pressure, having a hard time paying attention, managing extracurriculars, social difficulties, internal distress, or relationship challenges with their caregivers. Whether using techniques from child anxiety therapy, child depression therapy, or child dialectical behavior therapy including mindfulness and emotion regulation training, our therapists will help your child learn more about their current experience and move them to a higher level of functioning. Specified to the needs of every client, our program will teach your child how to better regulate their emotions, how to choose to engage in the most effective behaviors they can, and how to relax when wanted or needed. Our therapists will provide your child with skills they can use to socialize in a more productive way, and will also help them learn to identify and work towards their goals.

Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based approaches, we will help your child decrease the use of unproductive behaviors, troublesome emotions, and unhelpful thoughts. As your child becomes more mindful of their own experience, they will learn to focus their attention more effectively, identify and regulate their own emotions more skillfully, decrease confusion about themselves, and create and maintain healthier relationships with family, friends, and others.

In child therapy sessions, your child and their therapist will also focus on your child’s strengths- what they excel in, what they are interested in, and what they enjoy. We can then teach your child specific skills that they will be able to grasp, practice, and apply to multiple environments and areas in their life. Relying on your child’s strengths and reinforcing your child for making effective change will help motivate them to continue trying new, more skillful ways of being.

As clinicians with years of child therapy experience in New York City, we understand the challenges faced by your child and are prepared to help them succeed. Regardless of their current obstacles or stumbling blocks- emotion dysregulation, difficulties in social situations, trouble in school or at home, or just frustration about how difficult it can sometimes be to be a kid in NYC- with a supportive therapeutic relationship at MindWell NYC, it is possible to make important and lasting improvements.  

You may still be wondering about some things related to child therapy.

-Is my child’s behavior normal? This is a common question that parents ask themselves when they have concerns about their child’s behavior(s). The truth is, based on age or developmental stage, some behaviors are typical and normative and others are not. For example, as children get old enough to understand how to lie, that behavior may be normal for them. When these are of the ‘white lie’ variety, these are not typically problematic. However, if over time, lying becomes more habitual or problematic, it can become a target behavior to work on in therapy. Another common example is a child not listening to parents, which can be normal at particular ages or developmental stages. However, depending on the child’s age, the extent of the behavior, and the impact it may have, this behavior may not be in line with what is typical of a child that age. In child therapy, your therapist can help you and your child assess what behaviors may be problematic and can identify useful tools to change or manage the behavior if needed.

-My child has worked with school counselors, teachers, and even some therapists already. Are these problems really able to be changed? MindWell NYC offers evidence-based treatments that have been shown to be effective in changing behavior and increasing children’s ability to manage emotions. We also know that parent involvement in treatment is an essential ingredient in facilitating change in their child’s behavior. In child therapy, parents can learn skills and then work with their children on generalizing these skills to the numerous environments in their life- home, school, playground, and others. Although it can be hard work for both child and parent(s), it is possible to experience lasting change in developing and utilizing more effective behavior.

-Are there things I could be doing differently to support my child? What else can I do to support my child? With some children, the parenting skills or strategies you already have are helpful and may be all you need to guide your child in a different direction. However, sometimes parents need and deserve extra support when their child’s behavior presents more challenges. MindWell NYC’s team can work with you to identify and address the challenges that are unique to your child by offering an individualized and customized child therapy program.

-Are you just going to play games with my child? This is a commonly asked question and the answer is "no." At MindWell NYC, we use skills-based techniques and strategies that will teach your child how to better manage their emotions and behaviors. For example, we can teach them relaxation strategies including exercises on how to breathe more deeply and regularly, which can help to reduce anxiety and improve focus. We also teach children strategies to learn how to notice their thoughts and change them when needed to become more helpful and effective. We want parents to learn these strategies as well and will include you in treatment so you can help your child practice them at home.

You and Your Child Can Learn New Skills to Manage Your Child’s Behavior More Effectively

In child therapy, there are many strategies you can utilize to help your child improve their behavior or manage their emotions. Thankfully, you do not need to feel isolated or alone during the process. If you are seeking help, support, or direction, or are curious or interested in learning more about the child therapy process, please call our office at 646-809-5440 for a free 15 minute phone consultation. We are interested in hearing more about what your child is struggling with and in coming up with a therapy plan for your family.