What to Expect For Your Kids, Tweens, and Teens
By Malynn Kuangparichat, Psy.D., J.D.
As a parent, you might feel worried about seeking therapy for your school-age kiddos. How long will therapy last? What am I allowed to know from my child’s therapy sessions? What if my kid is resistant to therapy? Is it okay to ask my child how therapy went today?
Besides the initial questions and worries, many parents carry guilt or shame that their child needs professional mental health care. Not uncommonly, they feel like they are “not enough.” Some feel helpless or frustrated seeing their child struggle in school, at extracurricular activities, and at home with ADHD, perfectionism, anxiety, or depression.
It’s important to remember that you’re not alone in these feelings, and you don’t need to burden the guilt or believe the voice that’s telling you that you’ve “failed at parenting.”
Ultimately, getting professional support from a trained therapist empowers both you and your child with clarity and implementable strategies around the presenting concerns.
This simple guide will help clarify that first therapy session for your school-age kid, and ease some of the anxiety that comes from the unknown. If you’re wondering what the initial call is like and how insurance works, then head over to this blog post HERE.
What to Expect: First Therapy Session For Parent and Child
I’m going to go step-by-step through our process at CCWB, so just know that each practice may run things a bit differently.
So, once you’ve contacted the office and filled out the appropriate forms, then it’s time for the first therapy session for your child.
Generally, for younger kids, we meet with the family together during the first session to gather more background information. For some, parents want to meet one-on-one with the clinician or therapist without their child present to discuss the presenting concerns. If this is the case, just let us know ahead of time.
During the second half of the session, the therapist meets only with the child to get a feel for how the child interacts, gets to know your child one-on-one, and starts developing a treatment plan.
For older adolescence, we very briefly meet with the family together, and then move quickly to working one-on-one with your teen.
Building the Client-Therapist Relationship
“Can I ask my child what was discussed during the therapy session?” As a caring parent, it’s normal to want to know how your child’s therapy session went and what progress they’re making.
As such, we encourage kids to decide for themselves what they’d like to share with their parents about the sessions. It’s important to understand that your child isn’t required to report everything they share during their therapy session. Not only does this help build a trusting relationship between therapist and child, but also encourages progress forward in each session.
At the end of the session, we encourage parents to come back into the room, for younger children, to make sure everyone’s on the same page with actionable steps for intervention. The therapist can provide helpful strategies for you to try at home with your child.
Moving Forward After the First Session
Immediately after the first session, you schedule follow up appointments at the front desk. Generally, sessions are scheduled as weekly appointments to continue building the therapeutic relationship and addressing symptom reduction.
Frequency of Visits
Depending on the child and the many variables involved, some kids who are open to therapy move from weekly to alternating weekly sessions within a month. On the other hand, kids who take longer to open up or for other multiple factors, they will need weekly sessions for a longer duration of time.
For clients with more pressing or significant concerns, a therapist may see them 2-3 times a week, depending on our availability. In the case that your child (this goes for adults as well) needs a higher level of care, we refer out so they get the appropriate support needed.
When Does Therapy End
A therapy completion date varies from individual to individual. Some may no longer need to see a therapist after 6 months, and some go for longer. Our goal is to help your child process through their areas of need and provide strategies that they can apply when needed, at home and school.
Contact Us
Need more support for your child? We provide a range of mental health services to ensure we meet our community’s needs. At CCWB, we serve youth and families in the Chester County and greater PA area. In-person and teletherapy options are available. Reach out to us here.
You can learn more about how to help your kiddo (including tweens & teens) with social-emotional development and mental health insights specifically tailored to youth by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Our specializations for youth and families include:
- Therapy for Depression and Anxiety
- Self-Harm
- Perfectionism
- AD/HD
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Family Counseling
- Parenting Support
- Stress Management
- Addiction & Recovery
- Conflict Resolution
Disclaimer:
The contents of this blog does not constitute a clinical relationship or replace the need for professional services.
About the Author
Malynn Kuangparichat (Psy.D., J.D.) is founder and psychologist at Chester County Well-Being. In addition to providing therapeutic services, Dr. Kuangparichat offers comprehensive psychological and psycho-educational evaluations.
She has a collaborative approach that results in highly tailored evaluations intended to meet her clients’ unique needs. She focuses on the child’s strengths, which are integrated in the practical, personalized recommendations identified by the findings of an evaluation. In her free time, she enjoys running, swimming, and spending time with family and friends.