By: Dr. Andrea Goddard
No one gets a manual on how to raise a child experiencing challenges, but that doesn’t mean you have to navigate your way alone in the dark. As a child psychologist in the North Shore of Chicago, I’ve helped countless children and parents overcome challenges and experience therapy breakthroughs to improve their understanding of themselves and their loved ones. This also translates into bettering their relationships. So how do you know when you need a child psychologist or a child therapist? The short answer lies in the level of impairment or interference with your child’s day-to-day life.
Is the behavior or emotion hindering your child’s ability to live their life? If so, it’s impairing them. Impairment can be moderate or severe and it depends on each person and their circumstances. A swimming phobia may not matter much in the winter but in the summer when you and your family want to spend time at the pool or Lake Michigan or send your kid to summer camp, where there will be swimming, the phobia gets in the way of their ability to enjoy life and it becomes a problem.
Other common issues are whether your child’s ADHD is getting in the way of their learning or forming lasting friendships. Or if your child is having extreme temper tantrums that he or she cannot control. Is it difficult for you to decide whether your child’s behavior stems from their ADHD or their anxiety? Is your child spending too much time on their phone or the internet?
As a North Shore child psychologist, the question I ask potential clients is, “How interfering is the behavior or emotion?” If it’s very interfering, it’s time to see a child therapist or a child psychologist such as myself. Sometimes the interference stems from something specific, as in the case of a phobia, but sometimes it’s a more generalized issue or anxiety
More signs that indicate you need a child psychologist or child therapist is when your child is experiencing a regression or a significant change in their behavior. Regressions, or a return to a previous development stage, are common when there are big changes in the family, such as when a new sibling is born or parents are going through a separation or divorce. But the regression can become an impairment, in other words, interfere with your kid’s day-to-day life, if it continues. Some common regressions include the following:
- Bedwetting
- Separation anxiety and clinginess
- Language regression (using “baby talk”)
- Temper tantrums
- Irritability, and more.
In the case of temper tantrums, most children have them, but if your child’s defiant behavior in the form of argumentativeness, defensiveness, and irritability is affecting their ability to perform at school or get along with friends, this is a sign your child is struggling with something and could use support.
What happens in child therapy
At Breakthrough Psychotherapy, we provide a concierge therapy model, which allows us to offer many options for therapeutic support and personal growth through validating and responsive treatments that are tailored to, and work for, the client and their family. We offer therapy for children and their families by licensed child psychologists and child therapists with the highest levels of training, experience, and evidence-based research.
We will meet you where you are and offer therapeutic support outside of the therapy room if needed. Our unique model allows us to treat clients in the way that works for the client as opposed to being forced to stick to a rigid therapy model or approach. If your child is in crisis and needs to meet with one of our child therapists or child psychologists multiple times in one week, we can do that. If you or your child would prefer to meet with your child therapist or child psychologist in person or virtually, we offer both options.
We also offer support in the home so that we can help you implement the strategies you are learning in the therapy sessions. We are also able to offer therapy to college-aged youth who attend school out of state because we are licensed in all states. At Breakthrough, you will see the therapy working for you and your family.
In terms of our therapeutic approach, the treatment will vary based on the individual and the presenting concerns. The approach usually combines various evidence-based treatment modalities, but in general, a session with a child psychologist or child therapist whether in the North Shore of Chicago or elsewhere, might involve walk-and-talk therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), play therapy, and art therapy. The purpose of child therapy is to help children identify their feelings and express how they’re feeling but also to support them in developing skills to self-regulate, solve problems, and practice new skills in their own environments.
My goal as a North Shore child psychologist is to be a resource for parents and families but not the cornerstone of their parenting strategy. I’m here to help, to offer some scaffolding and suggestions, but ultimately, I want kids (and their parents and caregivers) to experience their own breakthroughs in our work together so they can live a happy, fulfilling, thriving life outside of the therapy room.
We provide therapy to individuals of all ages, including children (starting at age 5), adolescents, and adults experiencing a variety of presenting concerns, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, LGBTQIA+ identity and development, life transitions (including divorce and custody-related issues), grief, and much more. We also provide therapy to parents/caregivers, families, couples, and groups.
If you’d like to work together for child therapy, contact us to schedule a free phone consultation or give us a call at (773) 322-1363.