Child Therapy

Child Psychologist Minneapolis

Therapy Can Make a Difference for Your Child

You feel like you’ve tried everything, yet your child continues to struggle. They’re angry, anxious, sad and stressed, and they’re behaving in ways that are challenging for you, your family, friends, and teachers. Relationships are being strained. You’ve tried staying calm, reciting affirmations and anything you’ve read in the latest parenting blog, yet your child’s emotions and behaviors continue to interfere with their relationships, daily routines, attention and schoolwork. What else can you try to help your child experience less distress? What else can you do to help your family find relief? Help is here.

ELEOS Psychology Center is ready to help you and your child. No matter what challenges your child is facing, our therapists can work closely with your family by providing the care, attention and empathy needed to start on a path to happiness. We will work closely with you and your child to help find the roots of behaviors and emotions, learn skills to use in-between sessions, and build a path toward courage, calm and resilience. Our foundations are deeply rooted in compassion: compassion through the therapeutic relationship, compassion for the self and compassion toward others. We begin by building a compassionate therapeutic relationship with you and your child to make therapy feel safe. We will teach you how to have compassion for your children, replacing the frustration and anger. We will teach your children to have more compassion for themselves, reducing the negative self talk and insecurity. Every moment will become more manageable with compassion.

ELEOS is able to help children understand how their environment affects their thoughts, how their thoughts shape their emotions, and how their emotions impact their behaviors. We will work with your child to give them the skills they need to identify their emotions, putting their thoughts and feelings into words so that they can more appropriately express themselves. We will help your child develop the skills to calm themselves, regulating their emotions and controlling their behavior. Children will learn how to become more calm and courageous with the help of ELEOS while parents develop an understanding of how to meet their child’s emotional needs and learn positive and effective parenting strategies that will build both a stronger parent-child relationship and improved child behavior.

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Child therapy with us can:

Improve: mood, behavior, self-esteem, social skills, parent-child relationship and daily routines

Increase:
attention, confidence, assertiveness, problem-solving, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness

Decrease: anxiety, anger, sadness, conflict and avoidance

What to Expect with ELEOS Psychology Center

The therapists at ELEOS are especially talented when it comes to helping children. From preschool-age children to teenagers, we have created a safe space and implemented techniques that will make all feel welcome and comfortable while receiving therapy. We begin by taking the time to get to know you and your child. When it comes to child therapy, we are always mindful of developmental stages. Our goal is to help your child realize that they are in a safe space from the moment they walk through our doors. Whether we’re playing on the floor with your preschooler or going on a walk with your teen, we take into consideration where they may feel most comfortable so they can feel like they can speak freely instead of feeling inhibited.

With children, we use play to help build the relationship. Toys, games and art supplies all help create a playful environment that will make them feel comfortable. These tools are also used to help teach therapeutic concepts in a way that they can relate to, understand and enjoy. While your child plays, it gives them a chance to talk in a relaxed way and practice skills while we listen reflectively, offering validation and affirmation along the way. Play is a way for our therapists to teach social skills, communication skills, and self-regulation as well as a way for your child to learn to communicate their feelings in an appropriate manner. We teach compassion and understanding through play, and with each session, your child will have a bit more compassion than before. Therapists at ELEOS know how to strike the right balance. We believe the most effective treatment is achieved through the combination of a strong therapeutic relationship, evidence-based therapy and compassion.

Child therapy is one which also involves the parents. We include the parents because you’ve been working hard—we understand your current struggle in parenting and we’re here to help you, too. Just as when we work with your child, we build a relationship of compassion and empathy with you. A strong relationship with you will help facilitate communication between us, which ultimately helps your child and your family. While we work with your child, we also strive to teach you and other family members effective ways to talk with your child. We help you learn how to react in stressful scenarios with calm communication and positive interactions.

It’s important to understand that you are not alone. Your experience isn’t an isolated one. More than
1 million children ages 6 to 12 have had a depressive episode and between 20 and 30 percent of adolescents have a major depressive episode before reaching adulthood. However, most children with anxiety or depression never get the treatment they need, so by coming to ELEOS Psychology Center, you’re already starting off on the right foot to reach joy.

How Can You Tell if Your Child Needs Therapy

It isn’t always easy to determine—or admit—if your child needs therapy. All children could benefit from the communication skills, coping skills, and social skills learned through therapy. Compassion, understanding, self-awareness and mindfulness are some of the skills everyone could benefit from to increase resilience when coping with life’s challenging or traumatic events. Therapy, however, is especially useful if your child is exhibiting certain behaviors that disrupt their normal routine for a prolonged amount of time, e.g., mood swings, low self-esteem, loss of energy, difficulty sleeping, changes in eating habits and more. If you notice your child is starting to pull away from you, siblings or friends, they may be going through something that needs attention.

Many people have the misconception that children’s lives are full of carefree days. However, children are incredibly perceptive and can be very sensitive to changes in their family or their routine, and they may suffer longer after a traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one or abuse. Many concepts may seem too complex for a child to wrap their mind around, but child therapy and the techniques at ELEOS will help them develop understanding while learning to feel much-needed compassion for themselves and the world around them. With each session, your child’s mood and communication skills will improve as their anxiety, sadness, and anger decrease. The skills you learn as a parent will foster safe, calm and effective communication between all family members and the outcome will be a positive one for all.

Let’s Start the Conversation Now

No matter where you live across the Greater Twin Cities, our accessible location in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, makes us an easy child therapy option for those from Edina, Hopkins, Golden Valley, Minnetonka and more. Our doors are open from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M., Monday through Friday. At ELEOS Psychology Center, we work hard to meet your needs and help you and your child on your way to finding joy. Our late hours are meant to work with your family’s busy schedule so that solace can be found at your convenience.

If you’ve been struggling to help your child with their mental health, ELEOS is here. Our child therapy service is often the best solution to opening communication between you and your child as well as within your family. The skills learned here will tighten the bond between you and your child. Our goal is to teach both you and your child the necessary skills to identify, express, and regulate emotions, live courageously, decrease conflict, increase focus and attention, and live with empathy and compassion for yourselves and one another. With each session you’ll see newfound self-esteem, increased emotional regulation and diminished anxiety, anger and sadness.

Whether you or your family needs help communicating empathically and effectively, ELEOS Psychology Center is here for you. We have enjoyed helping many parents and children who have experienced the challenges you’re facing now. Our collaborative approach can help you and your child find the relief you need.