Counseling for Kids in Florida
Wesley Chapel, Tampa, Lutz, and Nearby Areas
We offer Counseling for Kids to Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Lutz, and nearby areas.
We have a dedicated play therapy room for our youngest clients in our Boundless Hope Lutz Office.
Do any of these scenarios resonate with you?
Have you read the parenting books, followed the social media pages, taken the advice of other parents, and yet found that your efforts don’t yield the same results with your child as others reap with theirs? Do you recognize your child is struggling but don’t feel equipped to help them? We understand! Parents, we’re not here to blame you or label your child. We are here to support, equip, educate, and validate you. We are here to empower you to be the parent that your child needs and affirm that you can do it.
Why might a parent consider seeking support from a professional counselor?
Every child is unique. However, there are similar patterns of development that lead us to have general emotional and behavioral expectations of children. It can be confusing and distressing as a parent if your child seems to be “wired differently” than their peers in a way that makes aspects of their life challenging.
Numerous recent studies have suggested that approximately 1 in 5 children are neurodivergent. This simply means that they may learn, behave, feel, communicate, perceive, interact, react, or experience sensory input differently when compared to the average or neurotypical child. Similarly, some children are simply born with personalities that don’t yield easily to authority or conform to group norms. Hello, future world-changers!
In addition to these internal factors that can present parents with unique parenting challenges, there are external factors that can warrant support. A developing child may be overwhelmed and ill-equipped to cope with significant life events, such as: divorce, the loss of a loved one, moving homes, family illness, trauma, abuse, family changes or a distressing event. When these circumstances impact a child’s mental well-being, it may manifest as changes in mood or behavior. We are equipped to help you address the emotional aftermath and facilitate your child’s healing.
People often remark that children are resilient. This can be true. However, oftentimes, what appears to be resiliency is actually the brain retaining trauma and moving forward in order to survive. When children don’t have the ability to cope with the pain they experience during significant life events, the brain “files it away” until they are older. This is why a seemingly resilient, well-adjusted child begins to go off the rails years after their trauma. It is wise for parents to get their children mental health support after significant events, even if they are not acting out.
Finally, why seek counseling for your kid? Because they don’t come with instruction manuals! Counseling isn’t just for kids that are struggling or parents that are frustrated . Counseling is for all kids and all parents. Consider counseling for your child as an investment that you are making into the quality of their future relationships, mental well-being, job success, and even future family.
“If I bring my child to Boundless Hope for counseling, what is my role?”
Children are not independent. They are part of a family system and structure. Therefore, solely counseling a child doesn’t adequately address their needs. You play a crucial role in your child’s counseling experience and the efficacy of your child’s counselors interventions. Communication, information sharing, and collaboration are key aspects of a parent’s role.
You will provide your child’s counselor with relevant information about their history, behavior, emotional state, and life situation. You can work collaboratively with the counselor to set goals for the counseling sessions, discuss your concerns, and express your expectations for the outcome of your child’s counseling. You are your child’s advocate. If they are having challenges, the counselor will rely on you to communicate with teachers, school counselors, or other people in your son’s or daughter’s life to ensure a consistent, coordinated approach to helping them.
You’ll also be directly involved in some counseling sessions and essential for implementing any strategies your child’s counselor shares in session. Your active participation and openness to coaching from the counselor are blessings to your child and will help you to gain the insights/skills to parent your child based on their needs. The more that you can reflect on your parenting style, make adjustments, and receive feedback, the better for your son or daughter.
Kids and adults communicate differently.
We meet kids in their “world” and communicate in their “language.”
There are similarities and differences between counseling for kids and counseling for adults. Counseling for kids can involve therapeutic approaches that are similar to those in adult sessions. Your child’s counselor may use psychoeducation to teach your child about their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. This may be verbal or involve worksheets. Children can also benefit from a variety of approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Supportive Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.
Conversely, counseling for kids can also involve therapeutic approaches that are unique to meeting a child’s needs. Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and attachment-focused work are examples of approaches that can benefit children. Our youngest clients participate in play therapy.
Play can reveal a child's perception of self, experiences, feelings, reactions, wishes, wants, and needs -Play Therapy at Boundless Hope Christian Counseling in Florida
In “Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship,” Garry Landreth describes play therapy as "a developmentally responsive, play-based intervention for young children who are experiencing social, emotional, behavioral, and relational disorders." He says the goal of play therapy is to "unleash the child's potential to move toward integration and self-enhancing ways of being, leading to decreased symptomatic behaviors and improvement in overall functioning.”
A play therapist may use either directive or non-directive play therapy. Directive is more therapist-led, using playful interventions (sand tray, art, games, activities, toys, etc) whereas non-directive is child-led play during which the therapist is actively attuned to the child and the play, giving therapeutic responses (i.e. reflecting content and emotions) and setting appropriate limits when needed.
Filial Therapy will directly involve you. It is a psychoeducational family intervention where you are trained and supervised to conduct special play sessions with your child under the guidance of their counselor. Filial Therapy will prioritize strengthening the emotional connection and communication between you and your child rather than directly targeting any behavior problems. Your child’s therapist will train you to conduct child-centered play sessions at home to promote your child’s free expression and emotional connection to you.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is similar to Filial Therapy because both directly involve you in therapy sessions and strengthen your relationship with your child. However, Filial Therapy places a stronger emphasis on child-centered play and your child’s emotional connection to you. PCIT is more focused on improving your child’s behavior through a structured, skills-based approach. With this approach, your child’s therapist will teach you specific behavior management techniques to address and reduce your child’s disruptive behaviors.
Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, emphasizes the importance of the early caregiver-child relationship in shaping a child's emotional and social development. Attachment-focused work between a child and parent will specifically target and enhance the attachment relationship between you and your child to promote secure attachment. This shapes a child's sense of self, relationships, and overall emotional resilience. Attachment-focused work may include play therapy, family therapy, or Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).
Play therapy is based upon the fact that play is a child’s natural medium of expression.” - Virginia M. Adams - Play therapy at Boundless Hope Christian Counseling in Florida
“This sounds like exactly what my child and family need! How do we begin?”
We are over the moon excited to be able to grab hold of the hurt in young, sweet souls before it attempts to take up residence in them for decades. Karrissa Manchester, Jessica Jefferey, Jess Osborn, and Leandra Mateo counsel our youngest clients in the play therapy room at the Boundless Hope Lutz Office. You can reach out to them directly, email Boundless Hope, or call us to schedule a FREE 15-minute phone consultation. If you have a tween or teen, we also have counseling for their ages and stages. We celebrate you for taking steps to sow seeds in your child that we believe will be reaped for generations to come!