Seedling Psychotherapy

helping people grow

           

(510) 672-0772

Child Therapy
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Please note: am no longer accepting new child clients.  Young children do better with in-person play therapy which I no longer provide. 
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However, if I saw your child in the past and if they are now mature enough to participate intelligently in online/video therapy, contact me and we can decide together whether I am the right therapist for them at this time.  
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Although I no longer see young children directly, I can provide guidance for parents having difficulty with their children.  
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The rest of this page is for the purpose of assisting parents in understanding how child therapy works, and what they might expect in working with a child therapist.  

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Play is the primary way that children explore and express their feelings and many of their thoughts.  If you ask a young child “why” they did something “naughty,” they usually will not be able to tell you.  Often they do not know the reasons for their behavior, and further, they often lack the vocabulary to explain their complex feelings and motivations.
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Child Therapy provides a supportive therapeutic environment where children can express their feelings through play and/or art, work in these mediums to untangle inner conflicts and difficult emotions, and gradually learn more about their feelings and how to express them in words, rather than acting them out.  In Child Therapy, therapeutically useful toys and art materials are essential in providing children with what they need to communicate complex emotional experience for which they do not have adequate words.
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Child Therapy works best when the child can attend consistently week after week, and the parent or caregiver also participates in the therapy through regular meetings with the therapist.  Depending on the child and the problem, child therapy can take anywhere from a few months to a few years.  Frequently, childhood problems and issues can be addressed or resolved with child therapy lasting between 6 and 24 months.  However, children who have experienced intense loss or trauma, or who are reacting to an on-going environmental stressor may need therapy for many years.

 

 

 

 

It is best to work with a therapist who can provide children child-centered  relational play therapy as well as listening and talking.  Sand tray and other expressive arts are useful when available.  It is best if the child therapist makes time to meet with the child’s parent(s) or caregiver(s) at least once a month or more, to discuss the child’s needs, progress, and to help the child achieve the goals of the Child Therapy. 



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