Counseling for Children

Counseling for children is important because many children are suffering in silence. Your child may have a developmental, behavioral, or mental disorder that needs professional help, so your child can live up to his or her best potential.

Today’s children have unique stressors, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and personality disorders, which can take a toll on their well-being. Since children are not old enough to know how to manage the emotions that accompany these stressors, they can suffer in many ways.

If you think your child needs counseling, it’s important to help them as soon as possible. By making changes now, your child will be set up for a better future. Christian counseling can help with any of the following issues you may notice with your child.

Anxiety was high for children before the pandemic, since they are subject to a fast-paced lifestyle and face stress at school, home, and online. We are learning that children are now even more anxious than before due to all the added stressors the pandemic placed on them. Many children may even feel like their childhood has been robbed from them.

Children are not adept at sorting out real fears from imagined fears. They may become anxious about things that are not threatening at all. Alternately, they may become consumed with anxiety about true fears, such as family relationship breakdowns or illness.

Left untreated, your child’s anxiety could produce greater stress in his or her adult years. Anxiety is often linked to depression which can increase when it is not processed. Your child may experience greater social or behavioral setbacks due to unprocessed anxiety, which can delay his or her launch into adulthood.

Many children feel anxious about social situations, academic pressure, or living up to their own or others’ expectations. They need to enjoy their age without those added pressures. If you notice signs of anxiety in your child, don’t blame yourself. Instead, focus on getting your child the help he or she needs through Christian counseling.

Your child’s counselor will help him or her identify feelings, put a name on them, and manage them with God’s help. Their feelings of doubt, fear, and worry can decrease with guidance from a counselor.

You are old enough to remember what the world was like before social media existed, but your child is not. They face pressure to get likes and follows from friends and even strangers on social media. This can get out of hand when your child forms his or her identity around a social media profile, or if your child is bullied online.

In counseling, your child will learn that it’s human to want to feel accepted. Yet social media isn’t a measuring stick for worth. A caring counselor will help your child find acceptance, grace, and love from God to overcome the societal pressures he or she faces. If your child is experiencing any emotional problems from societal pressures, the counselor will offer a compassionate stance as well as practical help.

Trauma, whether large or small, can wreak havoc on your child’s development. Trauma is not only big things like death, natural disasters, or abuse. It can also take lesser but still painful forms like parents’ divorce, bullying from peers, financial stress, prolonged illness, and more.

Though children are developing in both their bodies and minds, they are not immune to the effects of trauma. Many adults wrongly assume that children are resilient and won’t recognize the aftereffects of trauma. Yet research is showing that a child’s brain is affected by traumatic events and the resulting problems can persist for decades.

The good news is that when you get help for your child’s trauma now, you set your child on a path of healing for a better future. If you notice that your child is experiencing stress after either a big-T or little-t trauma, don’t hesitate to get help from a qualified counselor, who will help your child process that trauma.

Life is full of transitions that have impacts on your child’s psyche. Whether the transition is related to moving, divorce, serious illness in the family, or even a pet’s death, your child may suffer negative effects from the changes.

If you see changes in your child’s behavior or habits for two weeks or more after a transition, it may be a sign that your child needs another level of help. Make sure you get your child the help he or she needs to address the transition before further problems develop.