Children and adolescents face specific challenges that call for age-appropriate solutions. Each new life stage brings new adjustments, and it can be hard as parents to know just how to help kids through these growth periods. When you add in extra emotional and behavioral struggles, this can be especially difficult to navigate. Fortunately, you don’t have to do this alone.
At Union Square Practice, our goal is to help children and teens identify what’s troubling them, get to the root of the issue, and develop strategies for coping and feeling better so they can reach their full potential. We approach each child with compassion and warmth and use evidence-based methods we’ve seen succeed. With a diverse set of practitioners, we offer help for a wide range of issues, working with kids and their parents or caretakers to move towards happiness, health, and thriving.
Your child can attend therapy sessions at our offices near Midtown Manhattan or meet with us via telehealth wherever you live in New York State.
We see child and teen clients who are facing a wide range of issues, and often a combination of issues. Common mental health conditions and other situations addressed in therapy for children include:
Many children also struggle with transitions and adjustments related to divorce, remarriage, and blended family relationships. Therapy for the child can help, and you might consider therapy for the whole family. We customize every treatment approach and may suggest parent coaching or request permission to speak with teachers or others who can offer perspective on the child’s challenges.
Raising kids is arguably the biggest challenge we take on, and even the best parents can’t do it alone. We rely on teachers, coaches, and other adult mentors to offer our children support that’s beyond the scope of anything one or two people can give them. Every adult brings something a little different to the table, and a good therapist is a valuable addition to the team.
Child therapists provide a unique avenue of support for kids who may be struggling with any number of challenges. A therapist offers the child a dedicated space to discuss their feelings and experiences without the complications of being directly involved in the child’s everyday life and activities. Their job is to listen well, then supply a nonjudgmental, compassionate perspective and pragmatic suggestions for approaching issues. Weekly sessions carve out a regular opportunity for reflection and feedback, an outlet for tough emotions, and a space to celebrate small and large successes.
At Union Square Practice, our therapists cultivate a safe environment for our child and teen clients to examine their struggles and put them into words. By listening hard and asking good questions, we help them find and implement new strategies for approaching their problems. Regardless of what your child is facing, if they could use some extra support, therapy can help.
While testing boundaries is typical developmental behavior, ongoing and unresolved behavioral problems can be incredibly stressful for parents and other caregivers. Sometimes it feels like the child is intentionally causing trouble or being difficult for no reason, but problem behaviors don’t come out of nowhere. Reasons can range from normal hormonal changes to trouble at school to anxiety about something at home to a host of other causes.
A therapist seeks to discover root causes, including past events and ongoing circumstances, that contribute to these behaviors. They listen to the child’s account to discover how they’re feeling and thinking about their situation and the actions they’re taking. Then they offer the child different strategies for approaching their problems. In many cases the therapist also works with the child’s parent or other caregivers to implement new approaches.
Some parents blame themselves for their child’s mental health struggles. In fact, childhood and adolescence have their inherent complications, and you cannot control every aspect of your child’s experience. Therapy doesn’t seek to assign blame, but to discover reasons why things are happening in order to adjust thoughts and behaviors to improve mental health. This includes your child’s thoughts and behaviors, and often your own. With an expert perspective and deep compassion, your child’s therapist can spot issues that are hard to see from inside the home, then suggest ways everyone involved can contribute to positive change.
Our first objective is to create a welcoming and calming environment for our younger clients, helping them to feel safe and supported. As we develop this relationship, we take the child through a comprehensive evaluation process to learn about various aspects of their life:
The goals of this process are to identify issues, accurately diagnose causes, and make a recommendation for treatment. We typically begin therapy by meeting with the child for 45-minute sessions once a week. At each session we check in, find out how the new strategies are working, help the child process and integrate their experiences, and talk through next steps. By making small but powerful changes and reflecting on the effects, kids are empowered to continue shaping their lives to be happier and healthier.
Depending on a child’s needs and preferences, they may see their therapist alone or with a combination of parents and/or other family members. They might primarily attend sessions alone, but invite others to join them to discuss specific issues here and there. We accommodate each situation with a personalized approach, drawing on the expertise of a team of child and family therapists.
In some cases, other caregivers can play a valuable role in effective therapy. In the most common example, if a child is having difficulties at school we may seek parental permission to collaborate with teachers or school staff. This helps us ensure the treatment plan strategies used at home and at school are in sync. Whatever your situation, we strive to implement a holistic approach that encourages real progress and improves outcomes for everyone involved.
Our therapists bring a wealth of expertise and specialty training to the table. They draw from a variety of evidence-based methods, allowing them to select the ones most appropriate to the individual situation. Different therapeutic techniques emphasize different angles of approach in order to accommodate various personalities and motivations, and sometimes a blend of strategies works best. Here are a few of the approaches USP child therapists use:
After getting to know your child and gaining a clearer picture of the situation, their therapist will develop a clear plan. Their objective is to form a partnership with your child, and with you, built on trust and genuine connection.
Successful therapy starts with a positive connection between the client and therapist. This can be especially important for older children and adolescents, who might be wary of an adult being put forward as an expert. Therapy only works if the client is engaged and invested in the process, so your child’s therapist has less than an hour a week to prove themselves to be respectful, trustworthy, and competent to help. This is why qualified therapists have extensive education, training, and practice experience. Even with expertise, though, we know that personality fit is crucial.
Our initial consultation process matches you with a therapist likely to be a good fit for your child. Our clinical consultants will ask some questions to learn about the situation and the issues you’re hoping to address, then suggest a therapist on our team and explain what they bring to the table so you can make an informed choice. Care at Union Square Practice is always a collaboration with the client to find the clinicians and treatments that offer the help you need.
In some cases our recommendations involve medication. For issues such as ADHD, psychopharmacology is considered highly effective as a first-line treatment in conjunction with therapy. In many other cases, therapy is the primary approach and medication may be suggested after meeting with the child for some time and doing further evaluation.
We believe strongly that the choice to take or not take medication is a family decision, and our approach to psychiatry respects each family’s goals and values. We will always be clear about our professional recommendation as well as respecting your decision and tailoring treatment to fit. If we recommend medication and you are interested in that route, our child psychiatry team works closely with our therapists to ensure seamless continuity of care.
Union Square Practice is a group of psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists who empower individuals to be the best versions of themselves using the latest science has to offer.
Get expert help for your child or teen as they navigate growth, change, and individual challenges. Our child therapists are excited to work with your child and you to find practical ways to tackle issues of all shapes and sizes. We cultivate a warm and welcoming environment to help your child feel comfortable and safe as they start their therapy journey. Our approach is personalized and responsive at every step, with treatment plans to fit your family’s values and your child’s needs.
Whatever issues your child is facing, our therapists are ready to help. Meet with us via telehealth from anywhere in New York State, or attend sessions in our Manhattan offices if you live nearby.
Reach out to us using any of the contacts below or our general contact form.
