ANXIETY & DEPRESSION THERAPY FOR ADULTS & CHILDREN IN NORTH TEXAS

Anxiety and Depression Therapy Services

Our therapists can support you, or your child, as you work through the challenges of anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and depression looks different in children

Your child may have surprised you lately with outbursts and more erratic behavior than usual. They may seem keyed up, or withdrawn and quiet. They may be extra clingy, or express repetitive fears to you, over and over. These can all be symptoms of anxiety or depression in your child.

While it may seem surprising that a child can experience anxiety and depression, it happens, and your child may need a therapist’s help. Therapy can help your child find healthy ways to express their feelings, and useful ways to replace negative thoughts with more realistic ones. Therapy can act as a place for your child to practice constructive skills to ease their anxiety and depression symptoms. 

Symptoms of depression and anxiety in children can look like:

  • Defiance and behavioral issues

  • Persistent, repetitive fear and worry

  • Becoming quieter and withdrawn

  • Stomachaches and headaches

  • Trying to avoid school

  • Losing interest in time with friends

  • Inability to pay attention

  • Becoming clingy

  • Feeling tired, or hyped up, more so than usual

  • Self injury, sometimes thoughts of suicide

Therapy and parenting skills training combined make for a calmer, happier household

The child therapists at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center use solution-focused methods in therapy with your child, so they, and you, have actionable skills, systems, and behaviors to practice in session, and between sessions. These skills and systems can help with easing the symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, your child’s well-being hinges on you staying involved in helping them too.

Our therapists ensure to involve both parents in each therapy session for the last 10 minutes, so you can learn the skills and systems your child learns. We also provide parenting skills training, using the Nurturing Parenting program. You are key to helping your child heal, so your whole family can find balance again.

Getting to the root of anxiety and depression

Anxiety and depression can have many causes; life stresses, trauma, grief and loss, worries about the future, instability at home, and more. Getting to the root of your—or your child’s—anxiety and depression can help guide us both in finding ways to alleviate symptoms and help you heal.

Using cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and/or EMDR as appropriate, the anxiety and depression therapists at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center can help you sift through the troubles or trauma that are keeping you or your child stuck in a cycle of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Our job as your therapist is to help you use the therapy techniques we offer to better understand and accept yourself. That acceptance will then help you move beyond anxiety and depression, and on to a thriving life.

Anxiety and depression in college is common, and treatable

Anxiety and depression are common experiences in college-aged people. It may be common, but it’s also not something you have to grit your teeth through either. Help can come in the form of a therapist who specializes in therapy for young adults.

Our off-campus therapists near you can provide support and perspective, helping you understand what you’re experiencing, and how to find ways to get relief. We will work together to build healthy coping mechanisms, shifting unhelpful thought patterns, setting strong boundaries, and more, so your depression and anxiety can fade into the background of the life you’re building.

Symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults can look like:

  • Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness

  • Racing thoughts

  • Changes in appetite or sleep

  • Losing interest in hobbies, family, friends

  • Heavy fatigue, or restlessness

  • Reckless behavior, impulsivity

  • Irritability or anger

  • Thoughts of self-harm or suicide

Our therapists bring a client-centered and solution-focused approach to counseling, making sure to tailor care to each individual client.

Our therapists work with a variety of therapy modalities to support healing from anxiety and depression:

  • Cognitive processing therapy (CPT)

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

  • EMDR

  • Solution-focused therapy

  • Parenting skills coaching

  • Therapy support with our ATD trained therapy dog, Ghost

Ghost, the Therapy Dog

To make my therapy a warm, safe place where building trust becomes easy,  our ATD trained therapy dog, Ghost, is available for all sessions with our founding therapist, Brad Williamson.

Having Ghost in therapy sessions with us can help you relax and relieve stress. Lower stress and anxiety in session can make it easier for us to make headway together, toward lowering your anxiety and depression symptoms outside of therapy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? Here are answers for a few of the most common. If your question isn’t answered here, don’t hesitate to get in touch, our admin team at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center is happy to connect with you.

  • Yes. While occasional sadness or nervousness is normal in anyone, pervasive and disruptive anxiety and depression are possible, even in children. Children can struggle, experiencing large life shifts, trauma, and instability, and anxiety and depression can result from those experiences.

    If you notice symptoms of depression or anxiety in your child, therapy can be a great way to support them through their struggles.

  • While your child’s therapy will focus mainly on their needs, they need you, their parents, to support them throughout the week.

    Taking part in their therapy sessions each week helps you understand how to best help your child, and will connect you to them more closely, so your family can come out of this experience, stronger and healthier.

  • For children 7-12: Typically, sessions are 55 minutes long, though shorter sessions may be possible depending on your child’s needs. In session, your child and their therapist will review what they’ve worked on and what they’ve experienced throughout the week.

    Next, they will work together on a skill, system, or technique their child therapist picked out, to help them meet their therapy goals. We’ll help them understand their experiences, and find ways to cope with them.

    In the last 10 minutes of each session, both parents will be invited (in person or via video call) to take part in a review of what your child has learned, as well as parenting skills training, to help you and your child to build on their therapy skills throughout the week.

  • For adults 18-30: Sessions are typically weekly, for 55 minutes. Your therapist will start by reviewing your week, processing what you’ve experienced and what you’re feeling.

    Next, you will work together on processing trauma, working through feelings and experiences, or developing coping skills, depending on your needs and goals. Your therapist may provide you with homework, so you can practice your skills or challenge yourself between sessions, and can review the next time you meet.

  • When our therapists work with a client dealing with depression and anxiety our goal is to center therapy around what works best for you. We regularly say something along the lines of, “I’m going to show you a bunch of coping skills and strategies. You’re never going to hurt my feelings if you don't like one of the coping skills I teach you. Let’s try it and if you don't like it we will throw it in the trash, and move on to others.”

    We believe this approach sets us apart as anxiety and depression therapists because it means we can connect with you, or your child, where you are and are less attached to the idea of your treatment looking a certain way. We don’t demand anything of you, we look to find a way to work together, instead.

  • Visit our frequently asked questions page for more general information about the therapy process.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’ve noticed symptoms of anxiety or depression in your child, or yourself, and want help to get relief, the therapists at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center are here for you. We appreciate the chance to guide people on their way out of the darkness of depression or the stress of anxiety, onto a healthier, balanced way forward.