What age can a child start therapy?

There is no minimum age for child therapy. Children can benefit from therapy at many stages of development, as approaches are adapted to a child's age, communication style, and emotional needs. Younger children may focus on emotional awareness and regulation, while older children may work on coping skills and problem-solving.

How long does child therapy usually last?

The length of child therapy varies depending on a child's needs and goals. Some children benefit from short-term therapy, while others may need longer-term support. Progress is reviewed over time, and therapy continues only as long as it remains helpful.

Is child therapy confidential?

Yes. Child therapy is confidential, and a child's privacy is respected to support trust and openness. Caregivers are appropriately involved in goals, progress, and safety concerns, and confidentiality is clearly explained at the beginning of treatment.

Child Therapy

How to Talk to Kids About Therapy Handout

Parents of Children Handout: What to Say to Your Child About Starting Therapy

When Your Child Is Struggling, You Don’t Have to Face It Alone

As a parent, it can be difficult to know what to do when your child seems anxious, withdrawn, overwhelmed, or emotionally distressed. You may notice changes in behavior, mood, sleep, or school performance and wonder whether these challenges will pass on their own or require additional support. You are probably feeling overwhelmed - unsure of how to calm your child down or help your child feel better.

When children are overwhelmed, some will become overly controlling to try to mitigate their anxiety. Others will shut down. Some will react with rage. Each of these outer behaviors is a signal that something is "off track" deep inside. These surface behaviors are symptoms of unprocessed feelings and unmet needs that lie beneath the surface, in need of our help and support.

Child therapy provides a safe, supportive space where children can explore emotions, learn coping skills, and work through challenges in a developmentally appropriate way. With the right guidance, therapy can help children feel more confident, emotionally balanced, and secure as they grow.

You Are Not Alone — And Neither Is Your Child

Many families seek therapy for children during times of transition, stress, or emotional difficulty. Anxiety, sadness, irritability, behavioral outbursts, or withdrawal are common signs that a child may need support.

Seeking child counseling does not mean that something is wrong with your child or your parenting. Many children who come into our offices have highly sensitive systems that get easily overwhelmed, which can be confusing and overwhelming for parents. Further, children often lack the words to express what they are feeling. Counseling for children helps translate those emotions into understanding and healthy coping strategies.

At Mindful Child & Family Therapy (MCAFT), we believe early, compassionate intervention can make a meaningful difference in a child’s emotional and developmental well-being. And early intervention can help ease the burden on you, the parents, who are working so hard to make sense of your child's struggles.

How Child Therapy at MCAFT Helps

At Mindful Child & Family Therapy, child therapy is trauma-informed, evidence-based, and tailored to each child’s age, personality, and needs. Our clinicians understand the subtle differences in how children communicate, and therapy is designed to meet each child uniquely where they are - especially highly sensitive children who tend towards high anxiety, leading acting out and off-track behaviors.

Working with a trained child therapist, therapy may help children:

Understand and express emotions safely
Develop emotional regulation and coping skills
Reduce anxiety and stress responses
Improve behavior and social interactions with friends and family
Build self-esteem and resilience

Our child counselors collaborate closely with caregivers to ensure progress continues outside the therapy room.

Therapeutic Approaches Used in Child Therapy

Play-Based and Expressive Therapy

For younger children, kids therapy often uses play as a natural form of communication. Through guided play and creative expression, children can process emotions, experiences, and worries in a way that feels safe and non-threatening.

Cognitive and Skills-Based Therapy

For older children and adolescents, structured approaches support emotional awareness, problem-solving, and healthy thinking patterns. This type of kids counseling can be especially helpful for managing stress, emotional regulation, and behavioral challenges.

Trauma-Informed Child Therapy

Children who have experienced stressful or overwhelming events may benefit from childhood trauma therapy. This approach focuses on restoring emotional safety, building trust, and supporting gradual healing without re-traumatization. For children struggling with self-regulation, our trauma-informed work helps cultivate body-based awareness that supports emotional resilience.

Support for Anxiety, Depression, and Emotional Challenges

Child therapy can be especially helpful when children struggle with ongoing emotional concerns.

Child anxiety treatment helps children manage fears, worries, and physical symptoms of anxiety.
Childhood depression treatment supports children experiencing persistent sadness, withdrawal, or low motivation.
Therapy also supports children navigating grief, family changes, academic pressure, athletic performance or social difficulties.

When emotional challenges interfere with daily life, early therapeutic support can help prevent long-term difficulties.

The Role of Caregivers in Child Therapy

Caregiver involvement is a vital part of effective child therapy. At MCAFT, therapists work collaboratively with parents or guardians to:

Share insights and progress updates
Provide strategies to support emotional regulation at home
Strengthen the parent-child relationship

This partnership ensures therapy benefits extend beyond sessions into everyday family life.

What to Expect in Child Therapy

Early sessions focus on understanding your child’s needs, strengths, and challenges. Therapy progresses at a pace that feels safe and supportive, with regular parent check-ins to ensure goals are being met. You, the loving parents, are seen as an essential part of the process, and your regular engagement is greatly appreciated.

Sessions typically last 45–50 minutes. The length of therapy varies—some children benefit from short-term support, while others may need longer-term care depending on their circumstances.

Why Choose Mindful Child & Family Therapy (MCAFT)?

At Mindful Child & Family Therapy, our clinicians specialize in working with children and families using compassionate, developmentally appropriate care. We offer:

Licensed child therapists and child psychologists
Trauma-informed and evidence-based approaches
Collaborative caregiver involvement
A supportive, child-centered therapeutic environment

Our goal is to support not just symptom relief, but healthy emotional development and long-term resilience. Some parents consider therapy an investment in one of their most valuable assets - the mental / emotional health of their children, and their relationship with the people they love most.

Common Questions Parents Often Start With

Parents often arrive at child therapy with one specific question in mind. These questions usually reflect uncertainty rather than certainty — a desire to understand what is happening before deciding what to do next.

The pages below explore these common starting questions in more depth. Each one focuses on a single concern, helping parents think more clearly about what they are noticing and whether additional support may be helpful.

Is my child’s behavior normal for their age?

Children grow and change at different rates, and emotional or behavioral shifts can be difficult to interpret. Parents often wonder whether what they are seeing is part of typical development or a sign that their child is struggling more than expected.

This page helps parents understand how developmental stages, emotional growth, and life circumstances can influence behavior — and how to tell when reassurance is enough versus when additional support may be helpful.
→ Learn more about child development and age-related behavior

Did I do something wrong as a parent?

When a child is struggling, many parents turn inward and question their own decisions. Guilt, self-blame, and fear of having caused harm are extremely common reactions — even when they are not warranted.

This page explores why parental self-blame happens, what actually contributes to emotional challenges in children, and how shifting away from blame can open the door to healthier support for both parent and child.
→ Learn more about parental guilt and self-blame

What signs should I be paying attention to?

Parents often notice changes but feel unsure which ones matter. Mood shifts, behavioral changes, school struggles, sleep issues, or social withdrawal can all raise questions — especially when it’s unclear whether they are temporary or part of a larger pattern.

This page helps parents understand which signs are worth monitoring over time, how patterns differ from isolated incidents, and when it may be helpful to seek guidance rather than wait and hope concerns resolve on their own.

→ Learn more about emotional and behavioral warning signs

Why is this happening now?

Parents are often confused when challenges seem to appear “out of nowhere.” Emotional or behavioral changes frequently coincide with developmental transitions, stress, loss, academic pressure, or changes in family dynamics.

This page explores why timing matters, how stress accumulates in children, and why struggles sometimes surface during periods of growth or transition — even when things previously seemed fine.
→ Learn more about timing, stress, and life changes

What is really going on with my child?

When behavior changes, parents often want clarity rather than labels. They may feel torn between minimizing concerns and fearing the worst, unsure how to make sense of what they are seeing.

This page helps parents think more clearly about emotional patterns, stress responses, and underlying needs that may be influencing a child’s behavior — without rushing to diagnosis or assumptions.
→ Learn more about understanding your child’s emotional experience

Take the Next Step for Your Child

If your child is experiencing emotional, behavioral, or developmental challenges, child therapy can provide meaningful support during a critical stage of growth.

Schedule a FREE 20 minute consultation with Mindful Child & Family Therapy (MCAFT) to explore how therapy for children may support your child’s well-being.

Request Free Consultation

Frequently Asked Questions About Child Therapy

Child therapy is a form of mental health support that helps children understand their emotions, manage behavior, and build coping skills in ways that match their developmental stage. Rather than focusing on labels or diagnoses, therapy looks at how a child is experiencing the world and what support can help them feel more regulated, confident, and understood.

Sessions are designed to be age-appropriate and may involve conversation, structured activities, or skill-building depending on the child’s needs. The goal of child therapy is not to “fix” a child, but to give them tools to navigate emotions, relationships, and challenges more effectively while supporting healthy development over time.

Many children experience emotional ups and downs, especially during periods of change or stress. Therapy may be helpful when concerns last for several weeks or months, feel intense or overwhelming, or begin to interfere with daily life such as school, friendships, sleep, or family relationships.

Parents often consider therapy when they notice ongoing anxiety, sadness, behavioral changes, emotional outbursts, withdrawal, or difficulty coping with stress. You do not need a diagnosis or a crisis to seek support. A consultation can help clarify whether therapy is appropriate and what level of support might be most helpful for your child.

There is no minimum age requirement for child therapy. Children can benefit from therapeutic support at many stages of development, as therapy is adapted to match a child’s age, communication style, and emotional capacity.

For younger children, therapy may focus on emotional awareness, regulation, and strengthening supportive relationships. For older children, therapy may include more direct conversations, coping strategies, and problem-solving skills. The approach is always adjusted to meet the child where they are developmentally, rather than expecting the child to fit a specific model.

The length of child therapy varies based on the child’s needs, goals, and the challenges being addressed. Some children benefit from short-term therapy focused on specific skills or stressors, while others may need longer-term support to work through more complex or ongoing difficulties.

Progress is typically reviewed over time, and therapy plans are adjusted as the child grows or their needs change. Therapy is not meant to continue indefinitely unless it remains helpful. The focus is always on supporting meaningful improvement and helping children build skills they can carry forward.

Yes. Child therapy is confidential, and a child’s privacy is respected in order to build trust and create a safe space for open expression. At the same time, parents or caregivers are appropriately involved, especially around goals, progress, and safety.

Therapists typically explain confidentiality clearly at the beginning of treatment, including what information may be shared and under what circumstances. Safety concerns are always addressed with caregivers. This balanced approach helps children feel secure while ensuring parents remain informed and supported.