Parenting
By Rebekah Hudson
By Rebekah Hudson
When mental, emotional, or behavioral concerns affect your child’s ability to function optimally, child therapy can provide the developmental support needed. Depending on your child’s unique needs, certain types of child therapy may work better than others. As a caregiver, it can feel overwhelming to figure out which type is right, and chances are you have a ton of questions. At Hopscotch, we're here to answer all of them. Here, we outline the seven most common types of child therapy and how to determine which one is right for your child.
One of the number one questions that caregivers have when they discern that their child needs some professional mental health support is: What type of therapy does my child need?
Considering the various types of therapeutic methodologies out there, this question is an important one. Child psychology is one of the most nuanced fields in psychotherapy, so there are a lot of options available. In our experience, if you have a child age 5-17 who you suspect would benefit from some psychological or behavioral support, then chances are your child will likely benefit from one of these seven most common types of child therapy.
Note that while these seven therapy methodologies are some of the most common forms of child therapy in practice today, there are many other types of child therapy that certainly do exist. Hopscotch’s exclusive directory features qualified child therapists who are highly skilled in these seven therapy modalities along with many others, and you can browse our provider list here.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most popular methods of psychotherapy and focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and emotions affect behavior. CBT is a helpful methodology all by itself for managing a variety of symptoms (from stress to mental health disorders), and it can work alone or in combination with other forms of therapy.
In a structured environment over a set number of sessions, CBT is designed to explore ways in which inaccurate or unhealthy thinking may be blocking optimal functioning. By replacing problematic thought patterns with more helpful ones, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy provides children and adolescents the opportunity to reframe unhelpful perspectives and process life’s challenges successfully. Ultimately, CBT helps children navigate challenging situations and emotions with clarity while developing positive self-concepts. Your child will play and engage in fun behavioral activities to improve their mood or anxiety, as well as develop their reasoning skills to understand the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and “talk back” to negative thoughts.
Play Therapy is a very common therapy methodology for children ages 3 to 12, however, there are benefits of Play Therapy for teenagers and adults as well. Because children typically lack the ability to communicate and process their own emotions using words, a child’s primary form of communication is play, and in a play therapy session, toys take on a symbolic meaning for psychotherapeutic interpretation and dialogue.
Play is used in Play Therapy as an age-appropriate means to discover, process, and resolve psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues. The Play Therapist may want to observe the child play at first, or else, toys may be used to act out and resolve fears and/or to problem solve anxieties. How the play is facilitated in-session may vary based on the age and the unique needs of the child, as well as the theoretical approach of the therapist. However, it is worth briefly mentioning the four foundational stages of Play Therapy that typically evolve throughout the therapeutic relationship:
Stage 1 – The Exploratory Stage: A foundation of trust is established between the Play Therapist and the child.
Stage 2 – The Resistance State: A normal phase of therapy where the child is confronted with the difficult reality of unhelpful behaviors or thoughts.
Stage 3 – The Therapeutic Growth Stage: This is where the majority of the work takes place and where the child is empowered to achieve resolution for maladaptive behaviors.
Stage 4 – The Termination Stage: Once behavioral adaptation is sustained, a transition of separation away from the therapist begins.
Art Therapy is based on the concept that creative expression can cultivate healing and inner growth. Art Therapy techniques allow for self-exploration and foster healthy coping skills for children struggling with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and a slew of other behavioral issues. By utilizing the creative process, Art Therapy allows participants to gain deeper self-awareness and post-traumatic growth through self-expression.
Artistic methods have been used to treat psychological disorders and enhance mental well-being for thousands of years, but it became a formal therapeutic methodology in the 1940s. Medical professionals began noticing that mentally ill patients would often express themselves using art methods, which led many therapists to explore artistic methods as a healing strategy.
Since then, art has proven its use as an effective therapeutic methodology and has been relied upon as a means of exploring complex thoughts and feelings. During an Art Therapy session, participants will be guided through exercises relying on a variety of therapeutic artistic practices including drawing, painting, sculpting, or other expressive forms of art such as music, dance/movement, and writing to explore complex thoughts and emotions.
Family Therapy is a highly specialized method of therapeutic treatment that is designed to support specific issues that impact the mental health and wellbeing of the entire family unit. Whether a family is going through a major change or transition, grieving the loss of a family member, endeavoring to support a family member coping with a physical illness or mental illness, or just trying to improve the quality of family interaction and communication, Family Therapy provides support for just about any need. Family Therapy is an excellent resource for any family that desires to reduce conflict, improve the quality of home life, and develop healthy communication techniques.
The goal of Family Therapy is to improve communication and family interaction quality by focusing on healthy communications strategies, boundaries, and conflict resolution. Rather than focusing on one individual or problem, Family Therapy works to identify patterns or systems within the overall family unit that would benefit from optimization so that strong family dynamics can flourish. Multiple family members generally need to participate in family therapy at different times, as opposed to just the therapist and the child or caregiver.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is a method of behavior-based therapy that is designed to improve the parent-child relationship through therapist-coached interactions. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is especially useful for children who have PTSD, children who have experienced abuse, and/or children who exhibit severe behavioral issues such as aggressive tantrums and destructive conduct.
The ultimate goal of PCIT is for caregivers to help troubled or at-risk children transform unhelpful or disruptive behaviors into more beneficial and healthier behavior patterns. PCIT relies on a variety of techniques, namely positive reinforcement practices, and most PCIT programs typically feature two phases: (1) a relationship cultivation phase and (2) a discipline and compliance phase.
In each phase, caregivers will have the opportunity to learn new parenting skills and techniques. During a standard Parent-Child Interaction Therapy session, the caregiver will interact with their child in a play environment while the therapist observes the interaction through a one-way mirror, all while providing live coaching to the caregiver through an ear bug device. Via telehealth, the observation would occur through the virtual platform and live coaching through headphones/earbuds connected to a computer/device. In this way, a child’s behavioral concerns can improve as the bond between caregiver and child is strengthened.
Solution-Focused Therapy is a form of talk therapy that offers a short-term, goal-oriented approach to treatment. Solution-Focused Therapy is an evidence-based approach, which means it has been clinically studied in a scientific setting and research concluded it was effective. Solution-Focused Therapy prioritizes creating a solution for a specific challenge over gaining self-awareness or internal insight regarding the issue. The discussion of a Solution-Focused Therapy session will focus on a specific problem, how the participant’s life would be if the current issue was resolved, and what would need to happen for that desired future to become a reality.
Solution-Focused Therapy is a form of short-term psychotherapy that works by strengthening participants with the cognitive tools necessary for creating the future they desire. Rather than exploring past experiences or working to discover the root cause or the “why” behind a current challenge, the goal of SFT is to cultivate already-existent strengths to improve harmful patterns, habits, or behaviors, manage difficult situations, and achieve future goals. The core principles of SFT rely on creative exploration and problem-solving to promote solutions that would bring about the participant’s desired outcome. Your child will need to be able to use their reasoning skills to understand the relationship between actions and consequences and engage verbally in problem-solving discussions with the therapist in SFT.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based method of psychotherapeutic treatment that is designed to support children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Whether the treatment is sought for a single traumatic event or for multiple, the goal of TF-CBT is to help children and teens learn more about the trauma process, develop adaptive coping strategies, progressively develop the ability to process their trauma, then heal from and overcome the effects of trauma. Because the emotional, relational, and psychological difficulties a child/adolescent may experience as a result of trauma may vary, the therapist will custom curate a TF-CBT session to meet the specific needs of the child/adolescent. TF-CBT is highly effective, and studies found that over 80% of traumatized children saw improvement within 16 sessions.
TF-CBT requires the child to be out of an ongoing traumatic environment or exposure. TF-CBT generally works in three phases: 1) stabilization (emotional, physical, and psychological), 2) trauma narration and processing, and 3) integration and consolidation. Throughout these three phases, TF-CBT will offer participants a safe space for navigating trauma and will also provide education about child trauma including trauma trigger management techniques, cognitive coping skills, and trauma narrative processing strategies.
At Hopscotch, we know that caregivers have lots of questions. We are here to help you navigate the world of child therapy and connect you to quality providers. Continue browsing our other helpful articles, search our provider directory, or contact us for more information.
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Watching your little ones struggle is hard. Hopscotch is here to help you find a provider who can meet your child’s needs, whether they’re dealing with anxiety, depression, ADHD or another behavioral issue. We partner with national insurance carriers to ensure your session is covered.
Watching your little ones struggle is hard. Hopscotch is here to help you find a provider who can meet your child’s needs, whether they’re dealing with anxiety, depression, ADHD or another behavioral issue. We partner with national insurance carriers to ensure your session is covered.
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