CBT for Children: Knowing from Counseling for Kids in Croton NY

For the first years of a child's life and up until they go to school, the child experiences life through the eyes of the parents. And very often, the children face issues with emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, ADHD, bullying, nail biting, bedwetting, etc. The causes may be different, distress at home, dysfunctions, a divorce, or losing someone. And during the hour of distress, it is advisable to provide therapy for children as it will leave a huge impact in the long run. Counseling may be confusing for them, so it is essential to explain what counseling is, the reason for going, and what will happen during the process. CBT for kids Croton NY helps all ages of children, including younger children and teens.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

CBT is a type of talk therapy that focuses on how talk and emotions affect behavior. It can help people of all ages and is not necessary for the child to have a mental health condition to benefit from CBT. It helps people to look at their thought, feelings, and behaviors and show them how to replace negative thoughts with more realistic and positive ones. And helps people change behaviors that cause challenges in everyday lives. It will help reframe how they identify, interpret, and evaluate their emotional and behavioral reactions to negative experiences.

Is it an effective form of therapy for children?

CBT has shown to be an effective treatment for a wide range of psychological problems in adults. Evidence suggests that it is effective for children for various conditions, such as depression, anxiety, OCD, school-phobia, eating disorder, self-harm, conduct problems, and more. For children, the CBT process usually involves a parent or caregiver, the child, and the therapist. It involves a structured approach to solving problems in a specified number of sessions. CBT sessions can be done by itself, with medication, or other therapies, and can be conducted in many ways; individual, parent-child, family-based, and group.

CBT Techniques

Play Therapy- In this technique, the therapist uses arts and crafts, dolls and puppets, or role-playing to help the child address the problems and work on it. It is also a way to keep the younger children engaged through the session.

Trauma-focused CBT- This method is used to treat children affected by trauma such as natural disasters, abuse, divorce, or a loss. The therapists usually focus on behavioral and cognitive issues related to trauma the child has experienced.

Modeling- In this type of therapy, the therapist will act out examples of desired behaviors and ask the child to do the same. The desired behaviors may be regarding bullying, nail-biting, bed-wetting, self-esteem, and more. Doing this will help the child realize what actions to take.

Restructuring- This technique is used to help the child take negative thoughts and turning it into a positive one. This will help boost their self-esteem and help them understand that it is okay not to be the best.

Exposure- During this process, the therapist slowly introduces the child to the things that trigger anxiety him/her. This will help them understand that it will not harm them and help them cope with those things, and slowly build a positive emotions to those.

There are many ways CBT can help a child; therefore, Counseling for Kids Croton NY is highly recommended.