Pinnacle Counseling offers counseling for children, ages 5-17, and their families. A therapist with advanced training and experience in working with young people will meet with the child in our play room designed specifically to provide a safe environment for children to express themselves. Play is believed to be the language of children, when they do not have the vocabulary, insight, or courage to process things verbally. Through carefully selected toys, games, books, activities, art mediums, and purposeful play children can make sense of their lives, heal, and learn new skills. Counseling for children can address different types of issues including reaction to stressors such as divorce or loss, traumas of all kinds, problems with family bonding and relationships, anxiety and depression, disruptive behavior, aggression, school problems, and ADHD.
How do you know if your child needs counseling?
Children often react physically and behaviorally to stressors rather than just putting their problems into words. This could because they don’t have the words or don’t have the insight to understand what is happening inside themselves. Looks for signs like changes in eating habits, changes in sleeping patterns including having nightmares, regression in behaviors (e.g, potty accidents, thumb sucking, baby talk), crying and tearful episodes, “touchy” and short fused moods, and withdrawing from people and activities they used to enjoy.
What is play therapy? How will it help my child?
Play therapy is a specific type of treatment, based on theory and principles. It is more than just typical play time, although your child may not realize that. The trained therapist uses different avenues in the session to help the child express themselves and learn new skills for coping. The therapist can also discuss with parents themes that come up in the child’s play, indicating areas of concern. As the child plays out things and engages in activities during session, he or she will get similar benefits to an adult spending an hour talking with a therapist.
If you have further questions or feel our services are needed for your child or family, please let us know! Visit our website at www.pinnaclecounselingNWA.com for contact information.
Rachael Nachtigal, LPC
