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Child, Adolescent & Family Counseling

As a parent you only want the best for your child! You want them to be both healthy and happy! To value their abilities, to have confidence in themselves, to think for themselves, enjoy their talents, be more compassionate, have good values, treat other people well, have morals we respect and admire, be proud of themselves (but not arrogant or boastful), to have purpose and meaning to their lives and much more.

Unfortunately, life doesn't always follow the script we imagined and dreamed of for our children. As life can come with some unexpected twist and turns, hardships, pain and suffering and/or hard to manage moods. It's during these times that we as parents need help bigger than ourselves in order to help the person/people we hold closest to our hearts with either their struggles, stresses, situation, intense emotions or challenges.

We would love to help. Either we've been down that path your on or have the professional expertise to help you. To walk with you. To carry some of the weight you’ve been carrying and help your child with:

Anger, Anxiety, Depression
Behavior Problems
Strong Willed/Oppositional
Conflict
Divorce adjustment
Executive Functioning
Emotional Disregulation
Grief + Loss
Life transitions
Mood Disorders
Struggling with Socially and Relationally
Stressors
Sensory and Emotional sensitivities
School Pressures and Peer Relationships

When you seek therapy for your child at Traveling Light Counseling:

Our heart and goal is to help you as the parent understand your child's unique needs and develop ways to help them in their personal healing or growth process. Our passion is to help them be the best version of self and transition into adulthood as happy, healthy and thirsty adults. Thirsty for life, continued growth, purpose and a thirst to live life to their fullest.

Traveling Light is the place for parents who are looking to help their children better manage life’s situations, transitions, challenges, losses, traumas, hurts and pains so they will have more balanced behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. With our main goal being that they don't carry unnecessary baggage into their adult life.

How we can help!

Click each picture to learn how we can help you in these various areas of life and/or struggles.

Hes gonna grow big. Studio shot of a casually dressed young boy isolated on white..jpg

Attachment Disorder

Attachment disorders are conditions that develop in young children who have issues establishing a deep emotional connection (known as the attachment bond) with their parent or primary caregiver. Attachment issues fall on a spectrum from mil to more severe and show up in children either as reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED). Typical therapy for attachment problems include both child and parent.

ADHD/ADD

We help children and teens, navigate the in's and out's of what it means to be ADHD and live a life full of joy and adventure.

The research is clear: ADHD medication paired with behavioral therapy is the most effective treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The power of therapy for ADHD does not diminish with the age of the patient. We teach behavioral, social, thought management and academic skills that may help manage ADHD symptoms throughout life.

Let's work together to determine what type of ADHD therapy is best suited for your child in order that they can live in their strengths and put some brakes on thier race car brain.

Image by Annie Spratt

Highly Sensitive Child

What is highly sensitive? As reported by Dr. Aron"A highly sensitive child is one of the 15-20% of children born with a nervous system that is highly aware and quick to react to everything.

This makes them:
quick to grasp subtle changes,
prefer to reflect deeply before acting,
generally behave conscientiously
easily overwhelmed by high levels of stimulation, sudden changes, and the emotional distress of others."

"Because children are a blend of a number of temperament traits, some HSCs are fairly difficult–active, emotionally intense, demanding, and persistent–while others are calm, turned inward, and almost too easy to raise except when they are expected to join a group of children they do not know. But outspoken and fussy or reserved and obedient, all HSCs are sensitive to their emotional and physical environment."

Is my child highly sensitive you ask?
One way to know is to complete the online questionnaire ‘Is Your Child Highly Sensitive?‘, which also provides a good sense of what is meant by a “highly sensitive child.” This one way to know if a child is highly sensitive, but not always accurate for a given child. Another way to know is to read more and work with us to unpack the trait.

Managing Intense Emotions

Anger, Anxiety & Depression

Intense emotions can be paralyzing! Ever feel like your child's feelings call the shots. If they feel angry they react angrily rather than seeing the emotion as an indicator and having a response to a situation. They are a ball of impulse with a side of intensity. Keep in mind however these emotions may be traced back to a child's untreated ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Twice Exceptional, or Highly Sensitive trait.

Oppositional/Strong-Willed

Why does everything have to be so difficult? Is this their rebellious phase? Why does a simple task become a project with lots of emotion or attitude? Don't laugh but it's true, studies have shown disobedience in children can be an indicator of future success when harnessed for good. These are our out of the box thinkers that do not play by the rules.

Whatever the case, help is needed in order to take control of the chaos and restore peace within the family unit. The defiant child needs tools and assistance to meet their needs, understand their world and express themselves in a way that doesn't drain the people around them. Opposition at it's best presents like a Strong-Willed Child and at it's worst is Oppositional. When the child is operating from their strong-willed nature it behoves them to gain a greater understanding of this part of them in order that they can harness it into a thing of beauty.

Strong-willed children/teens have the traits of business owners, CEO's, world leaders, world class athletes and successful entrepreneurs to name a few. They are determined, committed, passionate, non-confirming, confident, persistent, resourceful, creative, intelligent and bold. We've heard them described as having more creative potential and strength of character than the average person. However, opposite can look like an annoying tendency to be overly passionate, very intense to get their way, test the limits over and over again, quick tempered, argumentative, defiant, deliberately annoying, doesn't take responsibility, easily annoyed, angry and resentful and often spiteful and vindictive.

Tracy Trautner says it best stating, "with patience, respect and an understanding of where these powerful personalities are coming from now and where they can take youth in the adult years, the tantrums and stubbornness become a little easier to tolerate. In the end, you want to raise a child who is self-disciplined, takes responsibility and is considerate."

Twice Exceptional

Also referred to as “2e,” is used to describe gifted children who, have the characteristics of gifted students with the potential for high achievement and give evidence of one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility criteria. In simple terms they have exceptional ability with disability (learning or developmental challenges). We will help your child manage their exceptionality in order that they can be the best version of self.

Parent Coaching

Parenting is a hard enough job in itself, let alone doing it on your own. Not to mention that the parenting landscape is in constant flux with our ever-changing world. Parenting isn't the same as it was in the 80's and 90's the world has changed and so has both our children and the intentionality required in parenting our children.

You want to raise children who her respectful and responsible. A difficult task when today's family continues to be in crisis. Together we can navigate the twist and turns of parenting and make the most of our most important relationships. Parenting with intentionality and love. Helping launch children as the best versions of self, living to their full potential and seeing life as their playground for opportunity and adventure.

Divorced/Blended Families

Though divorce can be difficult for most, as emotions run high and patience runs low it doesn't have to run or ruin your life or that of your children. There is hope. Your child doesn't have to be a divorce static and you and your co-parent can both survive and thrive through this often unexpected chapter of your life.

What the Counseling Process Looks Like

Building a strong foundation to go the distance as they become adults.

Counseling (or therapy, psychotherapy) is the process of meeting with a therapist (or counselor) in order to:

reduce internal suffering which occurs in the form of
- problematic behaviors,
- beliefs,
- feelings
- somatic responses (sensations in the body).
Self-growth
Self-discovery
Build coping skills to be able to handle negative experiences and emotions.
Resolve barriers which interfere with positive qualities such as
- joy
- compassion
- peace
- self-esteem
- spiritual connection
- love

Together with a counselor, you will:

learn
grow
explore
unpack
understand yourself
understand your world
understand you're suffering
understand your experiences

Many people enjoy therapy and relish the journey of becoming more conscious about themselves, their inner world and their relationships.

How long does change, healing and growth take?

We recommend:

Weekly for 45-minute sessions with an 8 week commitment.
- Despite the 8 week recommendation the process and therapy is a unique process and is discussed during the intake and assessment phase. After 8 weekly sessions, you and your therapist can discuss the movement toward your treatment goals and whether reducing sessions to biweekly or terminating therapy is the next step as this a process that is very personalized to everyones unique situation.

In the end, you will feel so much better knowing your child is receiving the professional help they need.

Let the adventure begin to a lighter and brighter tomorrow with the unpacking of today's struggles in order to receive tomorrow's blessings! We are honored that you have chosen Traveling Light Counseling to meet the unique needs of your child!

Call 772-361-8448 or click to schedule a therapy session for child counseling today.

Child, Adolescent & Family Counseling

Child, Adolescent & Family Counseling

How we can help!

What the Counseling Process Looks Like

Set Your Appointment Today