Children and Youth

From early years children (no minimum age) to teens and young adults, we’ve got you covered:

• Behavioural challenges at home, school or with peers
• Emotion regulation challenges at home or school
• Difficulty with peers, including bullying, struggles making friends
• Challenges with mood
• ADHD
• Anxiety and depression
• Neurodiversity, Autism
• Poor coping strategies or skill deficits
• Self-esteem difficulties
• Grief and loss

For young children, challenging behaviour or somatic concerns are often the first (and sometimes only) clue they are struggling. Some common concerns in young children include:

• Increase in tantrums, irritability or mood swings
• Increased defiance or limit testing
• Changes in eating habits or increased “pickiness”
• Sleeping difficulties, including nightmares, challenges with sleep onset, staying asleep or early waking
• Increased separation anxiety, clinginess or school refusal
• Increased fears or worries
• Regression with previously attained milestones, like toileting, dressing, sleeping
• Unexplained body concerns, such as stomach aches
• Increased sensory sensitivities

To meet children and youth’s unique needs, we use a variety of different therapeutic tools, including:

• Use of play
• Arts and crafts
• Games
• Visual aids
• Story telling, social stories and role plays
• Practical, hands-on coping strategies
• Shorter or split sessions as needed
• Involvement with parents/caregivers, including coupling individual work with parent coaching and family therapy as indicated
• Connecting with other professionals within your child’s circle of care as needed, such as the school, medical professionals, etc.

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There are many reasons why your child might be struggling and in virtually every case, the best way to help them move forward is with your support and the security your relationship with them provides. For this reason, we do not see young children for individual therapy without parental involvement unless there are extenuating circumstances.

For older children and youth, caregiver involvement can be discussed during the consultation or initial session. Once children have capacity to consent to their own treatment (typically around 12 years of age) they must be involved in decision making and have final say with respect to privacy and consent.

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Please also see Family Therapy and Parent Coaching and Support for additional support for children, youth and families.