The blog below was written by Brooke Shafer, LCPC/LPC, a clinician at the Counseling Center of Maryland in Bethesda. Brooke provided this content for a response from a journalist, and it was later turned into a blog.
The Short Answer
The best child therapy for your child depends on their age, symptoms, developmental stage, personality, and willingness to participate. While certain approaches tend to work particularly well for specific concerns, therapy is not one-size-fits-all. A skilled therapist will tailor treatment to your child’s needs and may draw from multiple evidence-based approaches over time.
How Do Therapists Decide Which Therapy Is Right for a Child?
Parents are often surprised to learn that therapists don’t choose a treatment approach based on diagnosis alone.
When determining the best child therapy fit, clinicians consider:
- Your child’s age and developmental level
- Current symptoms and challenges
- Communication style and emotional awareness
- Family dynamics and support systems
- Treatment goals
- Motivation and readiness for therapy
For example, a young child who struggles to express emotions verbally may benefit from Child-Centered Play Therapy, while an adolescent experiencing self-harm urges may benefit from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which provides concrete coping skills and emotional regulation strategies.
What Are the Most Common Types of Therapy for Children?
| Therapy Type | What It Is | Best Fit Age Range | Commonly Used For | Key Skills / Benefits | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) | CBT helps children identify unhelpful thoughts and replace them with more realistic, balanced ways of thinking. | Older children, tweens, and teens who can reflect on their thoughts and feelings | Anxiety, depression, school-related stress, fears, and phobias | Builds awareness of thought patterns, challenges unrealistic beliefs, and develops healthier coping strategies. | A child who worries they may die in their sleep because their room feels too hot can learn to evaluate the evidence and develop a more realistic understanding of the situation. |
| Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) | DBT is a structured, skills-based therapy that helps children and teens manage intense emotions and challenging situations. | Tweens and teens, though DBT-C can be adapted for younger children with significant parent involvement | Emotional dysregulation, self-harm, suicidal ideation, impulsive behaviors, intense emotional reactions | Teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. Parents are actively involved so skills can be reinforced at home. | During a meltdown, a child may use DBT skills such as holding an ice pack or focusing on a strong sensory experience to help regulate emotions and return to baseline. |
| Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) | CCPT uses play as a child's natural language, allowing them to express thoughts and feelings they may not yet have words for. | Preschoolers and younger elementary-aged children | Young children experiencing emotional, behavioral, social, or traumatic stressors | Provides a safe space to process experiences, explore emotions, build confidence, increase autonomy, and develop emotional awareness. | Rather than directing the session, the therapist follows the child's lead through play, using toys and activities to better understand and support the child's inner world. |
What Happens During a Child Therapy Session?
Every child therapy session looks a little different depending on a child’s age, personality, and treatment goals. A therapist may use structured activities, games, conversation, art, or skill-building exercises to help children process emotions and develop healthy coping strategies.
For younger children, sessions often focus on play-based activities that allow them to express feelings they may not yet have the words to describe. Through play, therapists can gain insight into a child’s emotional experiences and help them work through challenges in a safe and supportive environment.
For older children and teens, sessions may involve more direct conversation about:
- friendships
- school stress
- family relationships
- anxiety
- self-esteem
- emotional regulation
Therapists may also teach practical coping skills that children can use outside of therapy when they encounter difficult situations.
Regardless of the approach, the goal is not simply to talk about problems. Therapy for children helps build confidence, strengthen emotional awareness, develop healthy coping skills, and learn new ways to navigate life’s challenges.
How Are Parents Involved in a Child's Therapy Journey?
Parents play a critical role in their child’s progress. While therapists may see a child for one hour each week, parents are the ones helping them navigate everyday situations such as school stress, sibling conflicts, friendships, bedtime routines, and emotional ups and downs.
The level of parent involvement depends on a child’s age and treatment approach, but often includes:
- Sharing observations about behaviors, emotions, and challenges at home
- Collaborating on treatment goals
- Learning strategies to support skill development outside of therapy
- Reinforcing coping skills between sessions
- Participating in parent coaching or family sessions when appropriate
- Receiving guidance on how to respond to emotional or behavioral concerns
In therapies such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), parent involvement is often a core component of treatment. Parents learn many of the same skills their child is practicing so they can help reinforce those skills in real-world situations.
Research continues to show that children tend to make the most meaningful progress when parents and therapists work together as a team. When skills are practiced consistently at home, children have more opportunities to apply what they learn in therapy to their everyday lives.
Why Parent Involvement Matters
One of the biggest shifts in children’s mental health treatment is the growing emphasis on parent participation.
Programs such as DBT-C, PEERS, and SPACE recognize that children spend far more time with parents than with therapists. When parents learn effective ways to respond to emotions and behaviors, progress often accelerates.
Therapy works best when the skills learned in session continue at home, during school challenges, bedtime struggles, friendships, and everyday life.
How Do You Know If Therapy Is Working?
Progress doesn’t always look dramatic.
Sometimes success looks like:
- Making a new friend
- Participating in class more often
- Fewer emotional outbursts
- Improved mood
- Better family communication
- Increased confidence
It’s also important to remember that progress is rarely linear. Many children need time to build trust with a therapist before meaningful changes become visible.
Therapists typically look for patterns of improvement over time rather than judging success based on any single week or session.
Why Therapy Needs to Be Adapted for Children
Children experience and process the world differently than adults.
A situation that seems minor to an adult may feel overwhelming to a child. Likewise, a child may appear unaffected by an event that adults assume would be devastating.
Effective therapists remain flexible, adjusting their approach based on the child’s needs in the moment. This responsiveness helps children feel understood and teaches them that their emotions matter.
Key Takeaways
- Different therapies help children in different ways.
- Age, symptoms, and developmental level all influence treatment recommendations.
- CBT helps challenge unhelpful thinking patterns.
- DBT teaches practical emotional regulation skills and often includes parents.
- Play therapy allows younger children to communicate through play.
- Parent involvement can significantly improve outcomes.
- Progress is best measured over time, not session by session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Thoughts
Looking for Support to Help Your Child Grow and Thrive?
Every child faces challenges, but they don’t have to navigate them alone. Whether your child is struggling with anxiety, emotional regulation, friendships, self-confidence, behavioral concerns, or a difficult life transition, the right therapeutic support can help them develop the tools they need to grow, adapt, and succeed.
At Counseling Center Group, we believe therapy is about more than reducing symptoms—it’s about helping children and families build a life they genuinely love. Our clinicians work collaboratively with both children and parents to create personalized treatment plans that support meaningful, lasting growth.
If you’re wondering whether therapy might be right for your child, we’re here to help. Contact our team today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about child and adolescent therapy services at one of our convenient locations throughout New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Let’s take the next step together.
