Child Psychologists and Child Therapists in York, ON.

Children explore and make sense of their world through imagination and play, so why should therapy be any different? Your child will experience upbeat, playful, and engaging ways to tackle even the most difficult/serious problems. My hope is that our sessions will be a place where your child experiences themselves as capable, knowledgable, and clever. And hey, let's still find a way to have some fun too! I've been told by many parents that their kids are so excited for the next session they can't wait to come back... A far cry from feeling like you have to convince them to do something. *Please note, I work particularly well with children from the ages of six years old and up.

Parents bring their young children or adolescents to see me for counselling when they are having severe conflicts with them, when they see that their kids are struggling with school-work or with peer relationships, and when their children are experiencing psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, or difficulty adjusting to change. In all my work, I include the parents as partners in the treatment process.

Having young children of my own and being a single mother I have come to know the difficulties children can face at home and school. Children experience numerous issues that impact how they act, feel or learn. Children can experience concerns at school, with bullying, family and health problems. Children also face difficulties with depression, anxiety, ADHD, self injury, eating disorders, disruptive behaviors, anger and sadness. The importance of learning healthy thought patterns at a young age can lead to a happy and fulfilling adult life, creating good interpersonal relationships, better self-esteem, communication skills, and confidence.

While I do not work with youth under the age of 16, our clinic has many child and family therapists who are availability to schedule a free consultation. Since children are often impacted by family dynamics, we often find the most effective way to work with children, ages 6-11, is within the context of family therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with one of our child and family therapists by visiting https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/services/child-and-family-therapy

Young children are faced with many issues and challenges including divorce recovery, anxiety, depression, ADHD, addictions and others. The approach taken is not only a cognitive approach but a practical “hands on” , “activity based” exercise approach. Pet therapy, art therapy and solution and strength based methods are used for the child in order to reinforce certain cognitive methods of thinking. As a professional, I have had extensive training and a lengthy amount of experience (16 years) in dealing with all ages including young child to youth to young adult. Possible other topics include goal building, personality type, career exploration, safe coping strategies and many more

Shyamala is considered a parenting expert by schools across York Region where she regularly delivers psycho-educational workshops on a variety of parenting topics. She works collaboratively with parents to provide them with the tools necessary to raise confident and healthy children. She specializes in helping children manage feelings of anxiety and building leadership skills in order to maximize their success on all levels.

Child therapy utilizes a number of techniques that allow children to express their thoughts, feelings, and conflicts in order to heal and change their maladaptive behaviours and modes of expression. In play, children learn how to express themselves in constructive ways, to control their behaviour, to make better decisions, and to accept responsibility for their actions. When children can communicate or play out how they feel to someone who understands and validates them, they feel better because their feelings have been released and transformed. This also allows them to form a positive and healthy attachment to a caring adult, further enabling them to develop positive feelings for others.

Therapy with young children can be very critical to your child’s future development and emotional health. I provide some structure geared toward the issue at hand but the child also has a chance to explore their feelings in creative ways. Situations many young children come to therapy for include difficulty regulating emotions, parental separation or divorce, grief, withdrawal, trauma, amongst others. No matter what your child is going through, therapy can get them over the hurdle by allowing them to speak out in different ways and discovering coping strategies to get them through.

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There are a wide range of issues that affect children - they are vulnerable to many kinds of maltreatment and increasing stressors in our culture. However children often find it difficult to express their feelings and fears, which means that problems can be left undetected and unresolved. It is helpful then, to seek professional help if a child seems unhappy or distressed. With children, the construction of a trusting relationship between counsellor and client is especially important. Sometimes the counsellor will use puppets or sandboxes or play therapy to allow the child to tell their own story. In a safe trusting environment, the child can find their way towards emotional health.

When doing therapy with young children, my primary goal is to first make them feel safe and comfortable. I use Play Therapy and Emotion Focused techniques to address concerns and help them regulate their emotions to be able to navigate significant changes in their lives. I find that it is helpful to collaborate with parents for a smoother transition of therapy tools into their lives at home. These younger years can greatly impact their adulthood, which makes therapy a useful tool in building long-term resilience. Call today to see if your child’s needs and my expertise are a good fit.

It can be especially scary when a child struggles, because it can be so hard for them to communicate and as adults, we often want to protect them from the things that can hurt them. On top of that, we know that the struggles of childhood can go on to affect adulthood. Fortunately, through different types of counselling, such as play therapy and attachment therapy, young children are often able to find a means of communication and are able to express themselves and their struggles.