Child & Youth Counselling
Sometimes you know exactly why your child is struggling. Something happened at school. Your family went through a separation. They experienced something frightening or painful.
Other times, you just notice that something has changed.
Maybe your child suddenly doesn’t want to go to school. Bedtime has become a two-hour production. They’re worrying about things they never worried about before, melting down over seemingly tiny things, complaining about stomach aches, withdrawing from friends, or spending more and more time alone in their room.
And sometimes you’re left wondering: Is this normal? Is this a phase? Should I be worried? Am I making too much of this…or not enough?
You don’t have to know the answer before reaching out.
My Approach
Kids don’t usually walk into my office, sit on the couch, and say, “I’d like to discuss the underlying source of my anxiety.”
They show us what’s going on in other ways.
Sometimes it comes out through behaviour. Sometimes through play. Sometimes through a drawing, a game, a story, a joke, or something they casually mention while doing something completely unrelated.
My job is to meet them there.
With younger children, sessions may involve play, art, games, movement, stories, and activities that help them communicate and work through things in ways that make sense for their age. With older kids and teens, there may be more conversation, but we’ll still figure out what works for them rather than expecting them to suddenly become tiny adults in therapy.
Depending on what your child needs, I may draw from play therapy, CBT, EMDR, mindfulness, emotion-regulation strategies, and other evidence-based approaches.
But before any technique matters, your child needs to feel comfortable with me.
So we start there.
Things We Might Work On
Parents bring their kids to counselling for all kinds of reasons, including:
Anxiety and kids who worry about everything
School stress, school avoidance, or Sunday-night dread
Big emotions that seem to go from 0 to 100
Meltdowns, anger, or behaviour that has everyone walking on eggshells
Low confidence or being incredibly hard on themselves
Friendship problems, bullying, or feeling left out
Separation, divorce, and changes within the family
Grief and loss
Trauma or frightening experiences
ADHD or autism and the challenges that can come with navigating a world that doesn’t always fit
Sleep and bedtime worries
Life changes and transitions
Or simply a child who doesn’t seem quite like themselves lately
Parents Are Part of This Too
When a child is struggling, parents often arrive in my office wondering what they’re doing wrong.
I’m much more interested in figuring out what your child is trying to tell us and what they need from the adults around them.
That means you’re part of the process too.
Depending on your child’s age and situation, we may have parent check-ins, talk about what you’re noticing at home, and come up with practical ways you can respond differently when things get hard.
At the same time, kids (especially teens) need to know that counselling is somewhere they can talk without everything immediately being reported back to their parents. We’ll talk openly at the beginning about privacy, what gets shared, and the circumstances where I would need to involve you.
What to Expect
I usually like to start by talking with the parent or caregiver.
You know your child better than anyone, and having an opportunity to hear the bigger story, without your child sitting beside you listening to a list of everything you’re worried about, can be incredibly helpful.
From there, I’ll spend time getting to know your child.
What are they good at? What makes them laugh? What do they love? What do they hate? Who matters to them? What does their world look like from where they’re standing?
Because we know your child is more than the behaviour or symptom that brought them through my door.
Supporting the Whole Family
Sometimes helping a child means helping the child.
And sometimes it means helping the adults around them understand what’s underneath the behaviour and respond in a way that changes the pattern.
Usually, it’s a bit of both.
The goal isn’t a perfectly behaved kid who never gets anxious, angry, sad, or overwhelmed. It’s helping your child understand themselves, feel more capable when things get hard, and know that they have adults around them who understand how to help.
Wondering If Your Child Needs Counselling?
You don’t have to be sure.
If something has changed with your child, your family is going through something difficult, or your parent gut keeps telling you that they’re having a harder time than they’re letting on, reach out.
We can start by talking about what you’re seeing and figure out together what makes sense from there.