Counseling can take on many forms and is never the same for any two people.
Counseling can be very problem-focused and last only a short time, or it may last for many months or years and focus more on the complex, inner-processing of emotions and experiences.
Your counselor is here to help you process your thoughts in whatever way is most beneficial to you, and will never force you to discuss anything that you are not willing to discuss. All topics are confidential, unless we are concerned about the potential for harm to yourself or others. If Biblical counseling is important to you, please let us or your counselor know.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most common approaches available in traditional counseling and psychology. It operates on the notion that thinking and behavior are related, with thoughts leading to feelings, and feelings or emotions leading to either positive or negative behaviors.
Traditional CBT is short-term, in that many goals are achieved in a manner of a few weeks. However, every person is different and may require more or less sessions. It is additionally important that a person be motivated to change at least some aspects of their behavior and thinking for true change to be realized. For more information, click here.
Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based approach to improving the relationship and behavioral pattern between parents and children. It has over 40 years of research backing its effectiveness, increasing parenting skills, improving child behavior, decreasing noncompliance difficulties. It is also considered to be a trauma-informed intervention, working well with children who have experienced significant trauma, as well as developmental differences that lead to higher rates of noncompliance.
CIT is split into 2 parts: Child-Directed Intervention (CDI) and Parent Directed Intervention (PDI). CDI is taught for approximately 6 weeks before PDI, teaching parents essential techniques of play therapy. After such techniques are mastered, which work to build a warm and supportive relationship, PDI instructs the parents on appropriate time-out procedures. Note that this time out is different than most time out procedures, and is highly effective toward improving compliance.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with children operates very similarly to traditional CBT, but generally with more play and child-focused activities involved. Again, CBT is simply the connection between thoughts, leading to emotions, which lead to behaviors. A clinician may take more time to engage in rapport building, which is simply the clinician and child getting to know each other more.
Prior to true CBT beginning, many children may have to be educated on how to identify feelings, and this may take a little more time than adults. However, some children are experts at noticing feelings, but are simply struggling with how to react appropriately. Every person is different, making such therapies unique.
Parents are very much involved with Child-based CBT, with most sessions involving at least some time between clinician and parent, particularly as children may not be terribly forthcoming with the events of the week.
If your child has been exposed to a specific trauma, this is very important for us to know. Specifically, one of our counselors, Emily Whaley, is Certified in Trauma-Focused CBT