Childhood Behavior Problems

Is Your Child Struggling With Behavioral Problems?

Are you having trouble managing your child’s behavior? Do you wonder how to hold your child accountable and set and enforce appropriate boundaries and consequences? Is your child worried, nervous or anxious following a divorce, move, loss of a loved one or an academic change? Childhood behavioral problems often occur when a child is experiencing anxiety at home or at school, and a child may become stressed or anxious when behavior is approved by one adult and disciplined by another. Perhaps you are too permissive, rigid or inconsistent in your parenting, and your child may not understand what constitutes acceptable behavior. He or she may act out or test boundaries in an attempt to understand what is appropriate and what will result in consequences. Do you wish you could help your child find relief , feel confident and learn the skills needed to be successful moving into the future?

Every Child – And Parent – Struggles With Something

Everyone has something they struggle with – something they want or need to work on. Some children believe that they’ll never be any good at math or reading, for example. Others feel sad and don’t understand why they feel so down or how they can feel better. Childhood behavioral problems are often a child’s way of communicating when he or she lacks the social or language skills to express wants and needs clearly. Many parents see their children become nervous or resistant to going to school or spending time with friends. Alternately, some parents worry about attending family and social events with their children, fearing a public meltdown or temper tantrum. When considering counseling for childhood behavioral problems, many caretakers feel like they are bad parents for not knowing what to do or how to help their child.

The truth is that parenting is hard for everyone, and your child’s anxiety and behavioral problems don’t have to last forever. At The Counseling Center, you and your child can receive the education, skills and support you need to manage childhood behavioral problems and develop effective, lasting solutions.

Your Child Can Understand And Manage His Or Her Behavior

Counseling for childhood behavioral problems is an important step toward helping your child find relief from the stress, anxiety and difficulties he or she is experiencing. The therapists at The Counseling Center provide a safe environment where your child can feel supported and understood while exploring the challenges and uncertainty in his or her life.

We always meet with parent(s) first when working toward solutions for childhood behavioral problems. While it is important that your child has a safe, confidential space to explore challenges, a great deal of his or her progress will be made between sessions and with your help. With your permission, we communicate with your child’s school, pediatrician and other caregivers to check in on his or her progress and keep you informed. After every session, you and your child will take away a new constructive tool, technique or resource that you can build on outside of the therapy room. We’ll help you understand what challenges are part of “normal” childhood development and how to implement an effective behavior management system at home. Using tools like color-coded chore charts and specialized therapeutic timers, you can learn how to hold your child accountable and appropriately reward positive behavior. Additionally, we can teach you how to talk about different subjects with your child and help you look past your child’s behavior to the emotional aspects that may be causing the concerning behaviors. When you understand how anxiety manifests in children and what your child is saying with his or her behavior, you can help foster positive change.

Many children want and need a space where they can just be themselves and still feel unconditionally supported, and we provide a variety of therapeutic activities such as art, puppets and sculpting with sand. This unstructured play time gives your child an opportunity to work through behavioral struggles with an adult who can understand and give voice to those behaviors. Additionally, your child will often leave with a new tool or resource that we created together, like a chart to help them take the temperature on their feelings. Our office is full of toys and art supplies, and many kids love coming here, even thanking their parents for bringing them in.

The therapists at The Counseling Center in Towson, MD have been supporting children and parents as they begin to manage and overcome childhood behavioral problems for more than 10 years. We have helped countless clients feel renewed hope that things can get better. With the right guidance and support, your child can make progress, feel good about his or her accomplishments and experience more calm and joy moving forward.

You may still have questions about counseling for childhood behavioral problems…

We can’t afford child counseling right now.

While it’s true that counseling for childhood behavioral problems carries a cost as well as a time commitment, consider the current and potential costs associated with your child’s difficult behavior. Perhaps he or she has been kicked out of daycare, or you can’t find a babysitter willing to watch your child. Or you may have paid an expensive private school tuition only to have your child expelled as a result of problematic behavior.

Additionally, we take a progress-based approach, helping you reach your goals so you no longer need to pay for counseling. We’ve had many of our young clients experience improvement in behavior in as little as three or four sessions.

We’re not sure we can fit counseling sessions into our busy schedule.

We understand how demanding schedules can be, and we aim to schedule sessions around you and your child’s activities. In some cases, if your child’s issues are significant, we can work with your child’s school to approve a block of time for him or her to meet with us during the day. It is also important to remember that this is only a brief shift in your schedules as you work toward effective, lasting solutions.

Does counseling for childhood behavioral problems really work?

Unlike traditional talk therapy, child counseling at The Counseling Center is a fun, safe experience that children often enjoy. Your child will have the opportunity to make his or her own decisions for how to spend time in our sessions. We offer engaging therapeutic activities that allow your child to communicate in his or her own language. And when your child feels understood and comfortable, his or her behavior can quickly improve. Additionally, we offer support to you, the parent, as you learn how to heal and strengthen your relationship with your child.

You And Your Child Can Experience Relief

If your child is struggling with behavioral issues or anxiety, or if you have questions about counseling for childhood behavioral problems, we encourage you to call 410-583-7443 to schedule a complementary 15 minute phone consultation.