Connection Before Correction: How a Few Minutes Will Save Your Relationship with Your Child for a Lifetime
As a parent, you feel the weight of everyday pressures mounting daily.
Do you feel disconnected from your child? Do you carry feelings of guilt for something that has impacted your child in a negative way? Do you want to help your child in any way you can but are just not sure what to do?
When your child is struggling, it can feel like you’re carrying the weight of the world. You may see your once carefree child becoming anxious, withdrawn, angry, overwhelmed, or unusually emotional. Perhaps they’re having frequent meltdowns, refusing school, worrying constantly, struggling with friendships, or reacting in ways that leave you wondering, “What’s really going on?”
As parents, we naturally want to protect our children. We try to comfort them, solve problems, and help them feel better. But sometimes, despite all our love and effort, our child continues to struggle—and that’s when having the support of an experienced child therapist can make all the difference.
One of the most important things to know is this: if your child is struggling, you are not alone and neither are they.
Children’s mental health challenges have become increasingly common over the past decades in this increasingly complex world we live in and many loving, attentive parents are facing concerns they never expected.
Current national data shows that approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents are experiencing a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral condition.
The encouraging news is that children are incredibly resilient especially when they are provided with caring, timely professional support.
At Walnut Creek Family Therapy, we provide compassionate, evidence driven child therapy for children experiencing a range of concerns including anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional regulation difficulties, behavioral concerns, grief, family transitions, school stress, and relationship challenges.
As expert child therapists, we integrate a variety of evidence-based and expressive approaches so therapy feels engaging, developmentally appropriate, and effective. Rather than asking children to fit into one specific treatment model, we thoughtfully select interventions based on your child’s individual needs, personality, developmental level, and goals.
Our approach is always collaborative, flexible, and grounded in compassion.
We draw from several evidence-based approaches in child counseling, selecting the interventions that will best support your child’s growth while ensuring they feel emotionally safe throughout the process. The following are modalities and treatments we most frequently employ in therapy for children:
One of the most important things children experience in therapy is emotional safety. As therapists who have been providing child counseling for two decades, we focus on emotional safety and relationship building before any of the work can begin. Allowing trust to form naturally at their own pace without burden or pressure allows us a unique position of creating emotional safety where children are deeply seen, heard and respected so that effective changes can take place with ease and confidence.
Rather than defining children by diagnoses or behaviors, we intentionally look for their strengths, interests, values, and natural abilities. These strengths become the foundation for growth.
At the same time, therapy is purposeful. Together, we identify meaningful goals that reflect what matters most to your child and family—whether that’s reducing anxiety, improving emotional regulation, strengthening self-esteem, processing trauma, navigating grief, building healthier relationships, or simply helping your child feel happier and more confident.
Our approach balances acceptance with growth.
Children deserve to feel accepted exactly as they are today, while also receiving the support, guidance, and encouragement they need to become the healthiest version of themselves.
As a parent, you know your child better than anyone. If you have been wondering if your child could benefit from therapy, it is often important to trust that instinct. You don’t have to wait until there is a crisis to reach out for support.
Therapy is often most successful when you notice any of the following symptoms or behaviors in your child:
Therapy helps address these symptoms and more. Together with your child, we will address the root of these symptoms/behaviors while increasing awareness of feelings, improve nervous system regulation and create effective coping skills.
By the end of treatment, your child will develop greater confidence, healthier coping skills, stronger relationships, and emotional resilience to thrive in any stage.
The cost of therapy varies depending on the type of service and length of session. During our free initial consultation, we will discuss the service that best fits your needs as well as current fees.
We understand that therapy is an investment into you and your child’s emotional well-being and we honor it by providing high quality, individualized care with expert therapists in the field that create lasting change.
At Walnut Creek Family Therapy, we are considered an “out-of-network provider” which means that we do not contract or bill insurances directly, rather clients pay us directly for services provided. At the end of each month, we provide clients with a “Superbill” which you can submit to your insurance for possible partial reimbursement. Many PPO insurances provide 70% or more reimbursement depending on your deductible.
If you’re unsure whether your insurance covers out-of-network therapy, we recommend calling the member service number on the back of your insurance card and asking:
This is one of the most common questions we receive and an understandable one. Every child is unique and the answer to this question will be dependent on many factors:
Many families begin to see changes in the first few weeks and gradual changes over the next few months. Once the goals are met, we can terminate the therapy process, change the frequency or continue as-is due to on-going relationship support the child is receiving. As child therapists, we collaboratively work with parents to determine the best course of action.
Choosing a child therapist is one of the most important decisions a parent can make.
As expert child therapists, we combine decades of child therapy experience and training with a compassionate strengths-based approach that will allow your child to make meaningful connections and changes.
We intentionally build warmth, acceptance, compassion and respect for each child with encouragement and resiliency. Each session is tailored to your child’s unique development, emotional needs and therapeutic goals.
Our office is conveniently located in the Shadelands area of Walnut Creek. We reserve extended after-school hours (3pm-8pm) specifically for the children and adolescents in our practice so that therapy can conveniently fit into their sports and after-school activities.
If you’ve recognized that your child needs a form of support that you can’t provide, we are here to help.
If you have any further questions or would like to set up an appointment, we invite you to reach out through the buttons listed below or our contact form.
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