What to Expect in Your Child’s First Therapy Session

What to Expect in Your Child’s First Therapy Session

As a parent, it’s natural to feel distressed about your child's behavior and have concerns about counseling. You strive to raise your child well, teaching them right from wrong, how to manage strong emotions, and how to lead a happy, healthy life. Our trained child and teen counselors are here to support both you and your child in navigating emotional and behavioral health issues. Our goal is to help your child build resilience and learn how to manage their emotions, so they can handle life's ups and downs. You can trust our counselors to guide you through this process.

How We Build Rapport

A successful counseling session depends on establishing a trusting relationship between the counselor and your child. It's also important for you to feel comfortable with the counselor, as this is a team effort. During the first session, the counselor will engage both you and your child to understand your unique needs and foster a connection. This may involve asking exploratory questions and identifying common interests. Building rapport will continue over the first few sessions to ensure your child feels safe and encouraged to share their struggles. Rapport can happen through activities, games, and encouraging sharing about their likes, dislikes, interests and their world.

Parent Involvement in the Intake Process

We encourage parent involvement during the intake process and throughout the treatment plan. This allows you to express your concerns and highlight your child's strengths. The intake will provide a comprehensive history of your child, including the onset and duration of symptoms. While children may share only limited information, your participation in the intake process can help them feel at ease. The intake allows us to understand the bigger picture, guiding our approach in working with your child.

Our clinicians will ask numerous questions to gather information about your child's history of behaviors, any past hospitalizations or treatments, and the family dynamics. They will also explain confidentiality and its limitations, ensuring you understand what can and cannot be shared. Trust between your child and the counselor is crucial. The counselor will keep discussions confidential, but your child can choose what to share. It's important not to pressure your child for information, as this can hinder their sense of safety during sessions. The counselor will collaborate with your child to disclose any information that might jeopardize their health or safety.

Child-Friendly Activities Used in Sessions

Counselors often use child-friendly activities to help children learn skills related to emotional regulation and to encourage participation. Activities may include playing games like Uno, coloring, or playing checkers. These games can help teach children how to tolerate frustration and manage emotions, especially when facing challenges such as losing a game.

Other activities might focus on exploring their thoughts, feelings, and actions, or include prompts to discuss their experiences at home or school. Don’t be surprised if your child mentions playing a game or coloring during their session; they were learning valuable skills and may even have some homework to practice during the week.

Parent Consultations

Regular parent consultations are an integral part of your child’s treatment plan. These brief meetings serve to provide updates on your child's progress and identify any barriers to improvement. We schedule these consultations in person to maintain your trust and ensure we have adequate time to address any issues that may arise.

While we cannot share specific details about your child's treatment, we will provide updates on their progress toward established goals and insights that may help facilitate your child's development between sessions.

Common Questions Kids Ask

Children often have many questions before and during their therapy sessions. Typical questions might include who the counselor is, how therapy works, when sessions take place, what happens during therapy, and why they are attending. It's beneficial to have conversations with your child beforehand to clarify that therapy is a supportive process, not a punishment. Counselors are there to assist them in working through their challenges related to behaviors, emotions, or past traumas.

Children may feel anxious about discussing traumatic events. We will not force them to talk about such issues immediately; instead, this will occur naturally as they become comfortable over time. There are many techniques and activities we can use to support them without directly addressing the trauma at the outset.

It's also helpful for your child to know who their counselor will be, and they may even help in selecting someone with whom they feel a connection. A child who is willing to attend counseling is likely to make more progress than one who feels coerced into it. Helping them understand the benefits of counseling can enhance their willingness to participate.

Get your questions answered in a free discovery call. Our admin team can help you identify the best counselor for your child and get the appointment secured.