Child Therapist Strategies in Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Saskatoon, St. Johns, Burlington etc....
Are you thinking of taking your kid to a child therapist in Toronto? Read on to find out about the commonly applied strategies during therapy sessions in order to have a clear understanding and reasonable expectations from the process.
Play Therapy
Because younger kids cannot verbalize and communicate as directly as we need to help them, play therapy is very beneficial. This involves using toys, dolls, blocks, puppets, games, and drawings to aid in the recognition, identification, and verbalization of a child’s feelings. The Toronto child therapist will monitor how the child utilizes the toys and materials, later identifying persistent themes or patterns which can help clarify the child’s issues. Combined with the conversation, play therapy gives the child a better shot at understanding and managing their feelings, behavior, and conflicts.
Family Therapy
The aim of family therapy is primarily to give families more constructive and positive means of communicating, supporting each other, and providing appropriate learning opportunities. Sessions involve either the child or adolescent, his parents, grandparents, and siblings.
Group Therapy
This involves multiple individuals who are led by either one or more therapists. Group dynamics is used as a means to facilitate understanding of mental issues and to improve social skills through actual peer interactions. Depending on the case at hand, group therapy can focus on parental support, social skills, substance abuse, and others.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
CBT aims to assist in improving the child’s mood and behavior by alleviating anxiety and understanding his possibly distorted or confused thinking patterns. Here, kids are taught that their thoughts lead to moods, which affect their behavior. CBT teaches children to properly identify which thought patterns are potentially harmful, and then replace these with more appropriate behaviors and feelings. CBT is used for cases of anxiety, depression, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Psychodynamic Therapy
This form of therapy focuses on the value of comprehending any issues that influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of a child. It can lead to proper identification of behavior patterns, including defensive mechanisms and the child’s responses to inner struggles and conflicts. This form of psychoanalysis is highly specialized and intensive, which may require multiple sessions in a week. The therapy is based on the assumption that his feelings and behavior will improve the moment his inner struggles are recognized and addressed.
Interpersonal Therapy
IPT is an acute form of therapy particularly designed to help children with depression. The therapy focuses on the effects of interpersonal events on the emotional state of a child. Each child has unique challenges, which are framed in interpersonal terms. In the end, possibly problematic relationships are identified and addressed.