Child & Adolescent Therapy in NYC

If you have a child who has been diagnosed with a psychological disorder, developmental disability, has behavioral issues in school, or has a hard time making friends; it must be taking a toll on you as well. Our therapists are here to help you and your child through.

Therapy for Children & Adolescents in NYC

Children can experience a range of psychological and behavioral problems including anxiety, depression, OCD, defiance, school refusal, autism, aggression, social and performance anxiety, eating disorders, academic problems, and trauma.

If your child needs help for a psychological or behavioral problem or if you find yourself struggling to deal with these issues, our therapists can help.

How Our NYC Therapists Can Help

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been proven effective in the treatment of child behavioral issues.

CBT Treatment can help your child:

  • Enhance Self-Control
  • Improve Social Skills
  • Reduce Anxiety
  • Improve Emotional Awareness
  • Decrease Negative Self-Talk

Types of Therapy for Children & Adolescents

There are a variety of different types of therapy that New York Behavioral Health therapists specialize in:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is the approach our NYC therapists seek to reduce the intensity and frequency of a client’s emotional pain, suffering, and self-defeating behaviors. CBT can help clients to cultivate skills leading to goal achievement and life satisfaction by assessing and treating:

  • Cognitions what we think
  • Behaviors what we do and say
  • Emotions how we feel
  • Relationships how we interact with others

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is what’s considered a “third-wave” type of therapy developed after CBT. ACT can help you learn how to drop the struggle with any negative thoughts you have, rather than trying to push them away or defeat them. By building distance between yourself and your thoughts and emotions, your symptoms will likely naturally decrease.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy was originally developed by Marsha Linehan for the treatment of individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but has since been shown to be effective therapy for many concerns.

DBT contains four treatment modes that aim to address five functions. The four treatment modes are individual therapy, group skills training, phone coaching on an as-needed basis, and therapist consultation meetings.

The five functions of treatment include:

  1. Increasing the client’s motivation to change
  2. Enhancing the client’s capabilities
  3. Generalizing gains to the client’s larger environment
  4. Structuring the environment to reinforce the client’s gains
  5. Increasing therapist motivation and competence (Linehan, 1993a).

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).  It has been applied to various mental disorders, e.g., anxiety, anger, depression, personality disorders, eating disorders, etc. REBT was created by Dr. Albert Ellis. Al Ellis was originally trained as a psychoanalyst and began practicing psychoanalysis in New York City. After working with his patients for some time, he became dissatisfied with the lack of progress they were making. At this point he decided to return to his long-term passion, philosophy, to see if the wisdom there could benefit clients.

He developed the ABC model of emotional disturbance largely based on the work of philosophers who emphasized the role of beliefs and thinking in influencing emotional states.  The REBT ABC model is an acronym that stands for Activating Events, Beliefs, and Consequences. Consequences include both emotional consequences and behavioral consequences. REBT therefore conceptualizes emotional disturbances like anxiety, as a result of the combination of  an activating event and one’s beliefs about the activating event, the self, life and the future.

What are Child Behavior Problems?

Many disorders are diagnosed during childhood. In addition to the distress and impaired functioning experienced by adults, children are at particular risk of developing comorbid disorders during critical periods of development. Many aspects of behavior, including effective social skills, organizational skills, self-schema, and body image are largely established at early ages of development.

Therefore, it is of great importance that accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment occur as soon as possible. In addition, it is always important to ensure that parents and other family members are involved as they often experience anxiety and other aversive experiences out of their concern for the behaviorally challenged child.

Common Symptoms in Childhood Disorders

Childhood disorders or symptoms may include:

  • Aggression & anger (Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ODD; Conduct Disorder)
  • Attention problems (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD)
  • Academic difficulties (Learning Disorders/Disabilities, ADHD)
  • Social isolation
  • School refusal
  • Anxiety
  • OCD
  • Tourette’s Syndrome
  • Autism
  • Eating Disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating)
  • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Child & Adolescent Specialists

Meet Our Team

Chief Operating Officer

How Therapy for Children & Adolescents Works

Step one

Connect with your therapist by either completing our matching form or reaching out to our care coordinators over the phone.

Step two

Attend a 45 minute intake session, where you will get to know your chosen therapist. The point of this visit is to learn what brought you to therapy and how we can help.

Step three

In each ongoing session, you and your therapist will use trusted therapy approaches to help you develop and reach your goals. Collaboratively, you’ll connect in a safe, comfortable space to help you engage in your life in the way you want.

Contemporary care

Empathetic Experts

Our therapists and coaches have combined decades of experience and are specially trained to provide high quality, compassionate support for your health and wellbeing.

Goal oriented

We’re dedicated to using evidence-based methods to ensure you receive the most effective treatment and meet your goals.

Here to support you

personalized matching

We know that having a better relationship with your therapist leads to better outcomes, so we carefully match you with the right therapist to fit your unique needs.

compassionate care

It’s important to our therapists that you feel safe, seen, and understood in therapy. Our offices are judgment-free spaces.

Find relief for your child or adolescent.

If you’re looking for a safe space for your child or teen to speak one-on-one with a licensed professional, our NYC therapists are here for you.

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