Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Children
Are you raising a sensitive child who is often overwhelmed by intense emotions? Do their anger, sadness, fear and boredom frequently translate into outbursts, withdrawal, anxiety attacks, impulsive behavior and conflict?
Are You Searching For A Way To Help Your Child Cope And Thrive?
DBT for children is a highly effective approach that focuses on helping your child understand their unique place in the world. In a safe, welcoming environment, your child is free to be completely themselves. Being sensitive doesnât mean something is wrong. Itâs simply a different way to navigate the world and the process is highly effective treatment of:
You May Have Questions or Concerns About DBT
If your child is struggling to cope with their emotions, they might have difficulty focusing or following the rules in school. It might be extremely hard for them to get along with others, including their classmates and teachers. You might wonder if your childâs behavior will ever change.
Your child might also lash out at you, especially when you try to assert healthy rules and boundaries. Whether youâre asking them to do their homework or brush their teeth, they might respond with tantrums and meltdowns. Every day might feel like a battle.
Maybe youâve sought help in the past, and your child has been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), an anxiety disorder or something else. Perhaps youâve tried every treatment and parenting technique you can think of, but nothing has truly helped. Your child might still seem lonely, vulnerable and lost.
Do you wish you could help your child discover the strength in their sensitivity, while also offering them the tools to navigate their world? Do you want to learn new parenting strategies to help your child manage difficult emotions, connect with others and move forward with happiness, confidence and peace?
Parenting An Emotionally Sensitive Child Can Be Challenging
Raising a child is rarely easyâif ever. Thatâs true whether youâre the parent of one or a dozen. Children all have unique personalities and needs, and none of them come with an instruction manual. So, like all parents, youâre doing the best you can with the tools you have.
Emotionally sensitive children generally require a more specialized toolkit. Theyâre wired to feel things more intensely than others. Even something that seems minorâfor example, an itchy clothing tag, a detour on the drive home or a game at recessâcan feel enormous to a âSuper Sensor.â
Overwhelmed by their enormous feelings, your child might react in ways that seem confusing and alarming. And, that reactivity likely has negative consequences, whether that means punishment at home, criticism from teachers or judgment from their peers. As a result, your child might feel invalidated and rejected. However, they also learn that acting out gets attention. In an attempt to have their feelings and needs heard, they might continue acting out, feeding a destabilizing cycle that can continue into adulthood.
The truth is, your child is likely dissatisfied with their own behavior. They donât want to lash outâthey want to make friends and have fun. And, just like you, theyâre doing the best they can with the tools they have.
Thankfully, there is an effective way to offer your emotionally sensitive child specialized tools. By working with a child therapist who specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), you can help your son or daughter find calm now, and lay the foundation for a healthy, successful future.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy For Children Offers Specialized Insights And Tools
DBT for children is a highly effective approach that focuses on helping your child understand their unique place in the world. In a safe, welcoming environment, your child is free to be completely themselves. Being sensitive doesnât mean something is wrong. Itâs simply a different way to navigate the world.
Here, your child will enter an environment designed to validate their needs. Through sessions based on acceptance and positive reinforcementânot punishmentâthey will come to see how they can change their behaviors to make life a little easier.
Unlike other models of DBT for different age groups, this is a form of child and family counseling. As a parent, your active participation is crucial to your childâs long-term growth. That is why we begin work together without your child present.
First, you will have a chance to explain your parenting concerns. Then, for a few weeks, we will focus on developing new parenting techniques that can help foster the accepting environment your child needs to enact their own positive change. With empathetic guidance, you can learn how to sustain this environment, both in sessions and at home. For example, your therapist can help you learn how to ignore disruptive behavior, so that your child learns that acting out does not result in earning attention.
After the parent-therapist sessions, your child will attend a few sessions on their own. This is important for establishing a trusting therapeutic relationship, and for giving your child an opportunity to commit to the work ahead.
Then, the family will meet together. During this portion of the work, we will hone in on learning and practicing adaptive coping skills, as well as rewarding behaviors that demonstrate those skills.
