Child & Adolescent

Much like therapy for adults, therapy for children and adolescents focuses on helping children, adolescents and their families when emotional problems hinder emotional growth and development.  New Leaf is committed to an approach to therapy that deals with underlying causes of problems and that assists children and adolescents to create a strong emotional foundation for ongoing development.  Our approach is based on a combination of talk therapy and play therapy techniques that address the complex emotional life of children and adolescents.

The foundation of therapy is the relationship with a trusted, specially trained therapist who can help young people deal with the causes of distress and help them acquire the skills to cope more adaptively in the future.  The goal is to create a situation in which children can express themselves fully in order to develop self-understanding and new, lasting changes in emotional states and behavior. Therapy with children and adolescents is a collaborative endeavor with parents or caregivers. Typically, there are regularly scheduled consultations with parents to discuss progress and focus on their concerns about the child.

Some of the signs your child may benefit from therapy are:

• Difficulties at school, either with teachers, peers or academics
• Problems with focusing/attention, hyperactive behaviors (ADD or ADHD)
• Sudden changes in mood or behavior
• Difficulties with sleeping, eating or going to the bathroom
• Irritability, difficult “temper tantrums”, excessive anger or aggression
• Sad or scary dreams, nightmares, or fantasies
• Preoccupation with ideas, thoughts or feelings that seem inappropriate to their age

Child and adolescent therapy has been shown to be greatly effective in a wide variety of situations, for children facing a variety of challenges, including:

• Separation/Divorce and other family changes
• Trauma that the child experienced or witnessed
• Grief and loss of loved ones
• Recovery from child abuse (physical, sexual or psychological)
• School or academic problems
• Sleeping or eating problems
• Difficulties in relating to other children or adults
• Aggression, irritability, anger
• Behavior problems
• Depression, anxiety and other emotional distress