What are the Signs That My Child Needs Counseling?
Sometimes, as a parent or guardian, it’s challenging to understand children as they change with age and experience—as does the role that they need you to take on in their lives. While we expect to witness some pretty big changes as they grow, some of what you see may make you question your child’s social, emotional, and mental well-being, and wonder, “What are the signs that my child needs counseling?”
Luckily, families in Northwest Tarrant County have a Fort Worth Child Therapist they can trust to provide judgment-free counseling for children. Rest assured that the therapist will give you and your child guidance in using depression and anxiety coping skills that can enhance emotional regulation in kids and help them adjust and thrive in times of transition and change.
When Should I Start Counseling for Children?
Many life changes that affect you as a parent will also trickle down to affect your children. Life transitions like promotions, demotions, financial changes, relocation, new births, and dealing with a divorce can affect kids’ well-being just as much as your own. If you’re struggling through any of the above transitions, chances are that your children—who take their emotional cues from you—may also need some support. Counseling for children can support your kids whether they’re truly dealing with depression and anxiety, or just if they need another stable adult in their lives to feel secure.
Dealing with Death or Divorce
When a parent, guardian, or other close loved one dies, children may be sad, angry, confused, or all of the above. A child may feel like some of their normalcy dies with that person. Likewise, when a couple gets a divorce, it can feel like a similar death of normalcy to their young one(s). When there are so many feelings at once but not enough emotional regulation skills for them to handle it, it can feel like the end of the world as they know it.
If you’re going through a divorce with kids, your children may fear the future now that things won’t be the same. Some children worry they caused the break-up or they’ll never see one of their parents again, which can contribute to the depression and anxiety symptoms they exhibit.
Building emotional regulation in kids through counseling for children
Emotional regulation in kids and adults refers to a person’s control over their emotional state and ability to take action that alters the intensity of an emotional experience. Understandably, heavy losses like death or divorce can make emotional regulation in kids a challenge, especially younger ones. Without sophisticated verbal language to express themselves, children may act out what they feel inside, which adds up to some concerning behaviors.
Don’t hesitate to seek counseling for children if you and your spouse are navigating a divorce with kids or experiencing a hard familial loss and you notice that your child exhibits excessive sadness or:
Regressive behaviors like bedwetting or baby-talking
Throwing frequent tantrums
Extreme clinginess and separation anxiety
Blaming themselves for the loss
Your child may be unhappy with your divorce and may be communicating their discomfort through these behavioral signs. Encourage them to share their feelings with you, as much as they’re able. The Fort Worth Therapist you connect with at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center can help you navigate these difficult conversations and maintain routine as best as possible as you, your spouse, and your child create an arrangement that comfortably works for everyone. Reassurance, support, stability, and coping skills can help improve emotional regulation during this trying time and empower them to regain control over the behavioral expression of their feelings.
3 Signs Your Child Needs Counseling
#1. New Concerning Behaviors
Children may display a range of behaviors considered normal as they navigate the challenges of growing up. However, certain behaviors in elementary-age children might raise concerns and indicate a need for counseling or professional support. It's crucial to consider the context, duration, and intensity of these behaviors.
Here are some behaviors to look out for as signs your child needs counseling:
Aggressive Behavior towards peers, siblings, or adults
Excessive Fear or Anxiety (including separation anxiety, phobias, or generalized anxiety)
Sudden Changes in Behavior or Personality
Difficulty adapting to changes, whether at home, in school, or in routine
Regressive Behavior such as bedwetting, thumb-sucking, etc.
Persistent Sadness or Tearfulness
Frequent Physical Complaints (headaches, stomachaches without apparent medical cause )
Self-harm or Suicidal Thoughts
#2. Reluctance and Resistance Regarding School
It’s common for kids not to want to go to school sometimes. But when their lack of enthusiasm seems more like dread or refusal, or they’re experiencing significant changes in academic performance, consider it a sign that something may be wrong in their school environment.
No one wants to think of their child facing bullying, but be mindful that school can be an environment rife with it. Offline and online bullying can lead to or worsen depression and anxiety symptoms. It can show up as changes in your child’s mood and on their report card.
Look for signs such as:
Declining grades
Unexplained physical complaints
Frequent trips to school medical services
Skipping class
In counseling for children at the North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center with a compassionate licensed Fort Worth Child Therapist, your child will receive assistance and guidance in coping with the toll of bullying, or other issues they’re running into in the classroom.
#3. Social Struggles in Addition to Behavioral Ones
Making social connections is a healthy part of middle childhood. Does your child talk about any friends or classmates they like? Do they ask you if they can invite friends over or spend time with friends? Or do they struggle with socializing at school? Have they stopped getting along with siblings, cousins, and friends outside school?
If your child struggles with making and keeping healthy relationships, they may benefit from speaking to a therapist who works with kids. In counseling with a Fort Worth Child Therapist built on trust, respect, and safety, your child will learn practical communication skills, social skills, and techniques that can boost emotional regulation.
Reach out Today to Begin Counseling for Children in Fort Worth
Facing negative experiences and emotions is a part of life. Help children understand that while they can’t control the external circumstances that conjure up negative emotional states like depression and anxiety, they can learn healthier control over their responses to them. And they don’t have to learn alone.
In counseling for children at the North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center, an expert, reassuring, compassionate Fort Worth Child Therapist is ready to support families and guide them in coping techniques that protect and enhance mental, emotional, physical, and social health, communication, and emotional regulation in kids.
For more information on signs of depression and anxiety, modalities of counseling for children, and other ways of supporting your child as they navigate life, see how we can help you today.
If you think you recognize signs of depression and anxiety in your child and you need more support in helping them through the ups and downs they face, reach out to a licensed mental health professional to get them the counseling for children they need.
Families in Northwest Tarrant County can connect with a licensed Fort Worth Child Therapist who specializes in building trust, respect, and care, guiding them in coping techniques that can improve communication, social skills, and emotional regulation in kids. The therapy implemented and skills learned at the North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center will help improve emotional and behavioral responses and adjustment to adverse, depression and anxiety-exacerbating situations like bullying, trouble making friends, death in the family, and divorce with kids.
