Therapy should always have an end point.

We never want therapy to be just a constantly ongoing process, with no end in sight. That’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients we have on our waitlist who are ready to get in.

We need to be clear about our therapy goals.

We need to reach them. There will always be ups and downs, but we want to know, as your therapists, that we’ve made significant progress, that we’ve built up your resiliency, and that you feel ready to take on the challenges that might be headed your way.

Every person has their own needs - and we want to meet them before you wrap up therapy.

Learn more about using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with anxious or angry kids and teens!

“Somethings are difficult to put into words (at first), but can be shared musically, providing a starting point for further insight, work and learning.” Learn more about music therapy with Maria Carron, Director of Services with Midwest Music Therapy Services, Inc.

“Parents are often aware that a divorce or separation will happen well before their children, so this will be brand new information for them to process.” Learn more about supporting anxious kids during divorce with Heather Barnett, MA, LPC, and Chief Program Officer at Kids In The Middle!

Learn more about supporting your anxious high schooler as we interview Katie Holman, MS, LPC: “ As a school counselor, I can offer a safe space for students to go if they are struggling.”

“I also witnessed first-hand how effective art therapy can be when a loved one received various treatments for anxiety and depression. Art therapy helped them to relax, develop more trusting relationships with their therapists, and become immersed in a joyful creative process in the midst of such a difficult personal struggle. “

Internal emotions and external expression:

We all experience emotions internally and express them in slightly different ways from one another. We all have our inside emotional experiences and our outside displays of frustration, anger, and sadness.

When we experience a spike in emotions, it helps us know we may need to take the time to Stop and Think, using our Wizard Brain. Otherwise, our Lizard Brain might take over, leading to an explosive reaction.

Our Lizard Brain wants to react right away (it is in charge of fight, flight, and freeze, of course) – so if you notice yourself feeling heated, your Lizard Brain may tell you that you should explode and yell. However, if you take the time to stop and think “will I get in trouble if I explode?” you can make a wise decision, even when you start feeling upset.

How to help kids clue into their emotions:

Draw an outline of a body. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Try to get a head and arms and legs in there, and call it good.

Here you are, preparing for the big move: COLLEGE.

And this year is going to be different. You're excited about your coursework, you’re jazzed about meeting new people your age (yes, I'm the kind of lame therapist who uses words like "jazzed"), and you're pumped (also, "pumped") about all of the exciting new opportunities and challenges coming your way.

You've got goals! And plans! So how do you actually follow through on them in college?

Have SMART goals: make sure your resolution is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

Some kids are a little embarrassed to have to go to therapy…

but nine times out of ten they become more comfortable with it after the initial session. On top of that, in my professional experience, younger children are super excited to go to counseling because they view it as an opportunity to play and hang out one-on-one with a safe grown up, and through counseling they learn the skills and tools needed to help manage their anxiety.

Interested in counseling? You should make sure your therapist is willing to get your feedback.

One of the things I do as an LCSW is incorporate my clients' feedback into session. At the start of each session, I have my client tell me how their week was, how stuff has been with family and friends, how work/school has been, and an overall score for the week on a 1 to 10 scale. I want to make sure that things are staying the same or improving for my clients week to week, because that's how we can track if I'm an effective fit for them. This is called an "Outcome Rating Scale."

Step 2: Let your therapist know how THEY'RE doing. Even if that's uncomfortable...

Counseling is all about making connections and figuring out goals. I work one-on-one with children and teens to make real change happen, but it's also important to take the time and see if your goals for your child or teen are the same as their goals for themselves.

Anxiety in children is difficult to deal with, but anxiety is designed to be a helpful tool. Learn a quick tip to help with your child's anxiety here.