Since children and teens wrestle with many difficult issues, Christian counseling for children is often helpful. Examples of common struggles include peer pressure, gender identity, eating disorders, depression, broken relationships and many more. The source of these problems is a heart that is struggling, one God wants to redeem and transform through the application of biblical truths.
Despite the struggle to parent in line with the biblical precepts, there is hope in every circumstance for children who know Jesus. Christian parents do not need to face complex societal problems alone. We can receive help from our Christian community as we parent in a manner that encourages our children to know and seek the Lord.
At Richardson Christian Counseling in Texas, we offer faith-based assistance and therapy that helps parents and their children grow closer and deeper in their spiritual journey in Christ Jesus.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 943-2626
Each child is a unique person. Sometimes changes in the manner and attitude of your child can make you wonder if your child needs counseling. In some cases personality changes can become prominent after traumatic experiences such as abuse, death of a loved one or pet, a significant transition, or divorce. At other times changes can occur suddenly and surprisingly. Parents should keep a close eye on children who have begun to act out of character, have sudden developmental problems, or rebel in a way not considered normal for their age.
Whatever the reason, parents need to be aware of these changes. Often the child will benefit from counseling by a professional and experienced counselor.
Here are more signs that your child could be in distress and may benefit from counseling:
- Finding it difficult to adjust to new social situations or new situations
- Becomes unusually aggressive for little or no reason
- Bed wetting or day-time wetting
- Undiminished worry and anxiety
- Constant problems with other members of the family
- Problems in spiritual and growth development
- Nightmares and night terrors
- Sleep difficulties like insomnia
- Extreme weight loss, or a noticeable and sudden loss of appetite
- A sharp decline in academic results or low grades
- Engaging in self-harm practices, such as cutting themselves
- Stopping activities that the child once enjoyed
- Spending time alone or voluntary social isolation
- Repetitively performing rituals and routines, such as hand-washing
- Your child responds to voices heard in their head
- Increased physical complaints despite a healthy medical report
- Alcohol and/or drug use, abuse, or addiction, or sexual promiscuity
- Suicidal thoughts or attempts
Christian Counseling for Younger Children
Young children pick up on any stress that is affecting their parents. They may also experience conditions such as depression and anxiety. It is difficult for a young child to express and process negative mental and behavioral issues on their own.
The parents’ role to care for their children is vitally important. However, without appropriate training in specific areas, it will be difficult for parents to accurately pinpoint what their child is going through and the most effective way to help their child cope. Christian counseling for children is often needed to help them navigate their struggles.
A warm, safe, and friendly atmosphere is provided for the child to make sure that he or she will feel confident to open up about his or her feelings. Child counselors are specialists in mental health. They offer invaluable insight in your child’s social and emotional development and mental health. This insight is gained through curated conversation topics and activities in which your child feels comfortable participating. The experienced counselors at Richardson Christian Counseling are well equipped to interact with children experiencing a variety of problems. Our counselors treat them by taking their age, signs, symptoms, and other factors that concern the child and parents.
In counseling for children, Christian counselors may use one or more of the following therapies to help your child heal and grow.
Play therapy
A play counselor is trained to observe and interact with a child’s behavior during the creative play sessions. He or she will explore issues, make a diagnosis, and construct activities that can help a child heal. Children naturally communicate their emotions and challenges through play, and the counselor will pick up on them.
Trauma-focused therapy
This approach to therapy recognizes and focuses on how a traumatic experience impacts a child’s spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being. The therapy is rooted in understanding the connection between the trauma experience and the child’s emotional and behavioral responses. The purposes of trauma-focused therapy are to make the child aware of skills and strategies he or she can use to better understand, cope with, and process emotions and memories linked to traumatic experiences. The goal is to enable the child to create a healthier and more adaptive meaning of the experience that took place in his or her life.
The therapy helps the child cope with the traumatic or abusive experience that has left ever-present painful thoughts. The therapy helps the child to manage the emotions that accompany the painful memories, and as a result the child can heal and fully recover.
Will the Parent Be Present During Counseling?
It is commonly accepted that a parent whose child is younger than 13 years old should accompany the child and be physically present during the therapy session. This is to ensure that the child will have a sense of security during the time with the counselor. A parent’s role is fundamentally important to a child’s healing and recovery. While a child receives counseling the parents are able to witness and receive assistance to help them understand what their child is going through and how best to help them.
Common Goals of Counseling for Children
The goal of the counseling for children will vary according to the issues experienced by the child. Typically, the sessions focus on addressing issues that are significantly impacting his or her growth, development, mental health, and well-being. The tools, techniques, and methods learned during therapy sessions are useful in the specific purpose surrounding the need for therapy as well as facing current and future challenges.
Part of counseling for children is to help the child successfully cope with challenging and complex situations that trigger strong emotions, including anxiety and trauma.
Anxiety
Being able to manage emotional distress and anxiety is a very important and beneficial skill for a child. From there the child may be taught how to prevent panic attacks or deal with anxiety in healthier ways.
An anxious child can learn stress management and relaxation techniques when they get agitated. These techniques include breathing exercises, muscle control, and positive self-talk. A child also needs to understand the importance of talking to someone when he or she feels overwhelmed, mentally tired, confused, distressed, or even anxious.
By working through feelings with a professional, your child is able to get the help her or she needs to handle, manage, and resolve issues by utilizing the toolbox of coping mechanisms they were taught.
Trauma
Exposure to disturbing situations traumatize children. It is often heart-breaking for those who love the child to see the effects of the trauma in the child. Symptoms include shock, disbelief, detachment, emotional or social numbness, fear, anxiety, and depression. It may also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
PTSD symptoms may well include a strong desire to avoid various elements related to the trauma. These can include the people and places associated with the original event. Other symptoms of PTSD include intense memories, flashbacks, nightmares, sleep issues, uncontrollable anger, aggression, and agitation.
In the face of these severe symptoms, remember that counseling for children gives those suffering from PTSD a way to share their feelings and fears. By giving children a voice, they can talk about what happened and how it made them feel both then and now. This is important to do rather than keeping the feelings bottled up inside.
As the children partake in counseling, they come to understand that they are not to blame. Rather than being victims or perpetrators, they are survivors. Having a toolbox of techniques to deal with upsetting memories or flashbacks makes children far more able to not just survive but thrive.
Other situations that will likely trigger strong emotions include divorce, grief, change, low self-esteem, and self-confidence.
Partnering with Parents to Encourage Faith-Based Outcomes
It’s natural to worry about your children going astray, and even harder to hold on to the promise that all things will work together for good to those who love God. Some problems may seem hopeless and beyond healing. But with Christian counseling for children in Richardson, Texas, there are methods you can use overcome these challenges. Reach out to our counselors today to learn how we can help your child.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 943-2626
