Kids / Children

Pediatric therapy interventions involve a lot of hands-on practice. Kids learn by doing. Through play, art, individual talk therapy, and interventions like EMDR, your child can understand the practices being taught because they are experiencing successful outcomes during their therapy sessions.

Praise, support, and education can help kids learn to believe in themselves, continue developing their strengths, and work towards developing their weaknesses. Creating lifelong healthy mental health behavioral habits is often an overall goal of your child’s therapy.

During therapy, your child’s therapist will help your child become aware of and identify their thoughts and feelings. Processing through those thoughts and feelings will help give your child the tools they will need to successfully self-soothe and process feelings on their own in the future. Your child will be taught communication tools. They will learn about empathy. They will feel a sense of acceptance and comfort. Your child’s therapist, your child, and you will create a plan for what interventions will be most useful to reach overall therapy goals.

Our therapists use a variety of modalities and interventions to best treat your child. Because no two children are alike, no two treatment plans are alike. Your child’s therapy will most likely include multiple therapeutic techniques. Here are our most common.

Individual Talk Therapy: Children consistently thrive when given one-on-one attention. In talk therapy, your child has the opportunity to work with a therapist who will guide your child through treatment. Your child will work on identifying and working through hard feelings and emotions, learn new techniques to manage emotions, and practice positive mental health approaches to use throughout their childhood and lifetime.

WISe Therapy: Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe) is a therapeutic process to aid children and families with complicated mental health needs. When children can strengthen relationships within their families and with others around them, they can feel empowered and achieve their therapeutic goals.

EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an excellent intervention for children who have experienced trauma. Through this process, your child can reconnect to trauma in a way that feels safe. Connecting and addressing their trauma can facilitate healing for your child.

*Note – Many children think their eyes will somehow be touched during the treatment. There’s no need for your child to worry or be nervous about EMDR – despite what the name suggests, there is no eye touching involved!

Play Therapy: Through play, your child can often express emotions, communicate feelings, and solve their own struggles. Without the pressure of talking one-on-one to an adult, children’s feelings become more evident while reenacting situations they’ve felt or experienced via play toys or other provided materials.

There is no typical length for pediatric therapy. Your child’s therapy depends on your child’s needs, progress, and goals. Treatment length will vary from child to child. Your child’s therapy team will work with your child and you to create an overall plan for treatment, benchmarks to reach throughout the process, and overall goals to be achieved through therapy. Constant evaluation will occur throughout the process so the overall treatment plan can be adjusted as needed.

You are your child’s biggest advocate/cheerleader/supporter! We know you play a big role in your child’s life, and your sincere involvement can be the driving force for successful therapy outcomes. Help your child find the right therapist with who they feel comfortable and confident speaking with. Ensure your child is on time and prepared for therapy appointments. Talk with your child’s therapist, and work hard on your individual parent assignments. Spend one-on-one time with your child, and ensure they feel supported. Be calm and patient with your child. They are experiencing big emotions for a little human, and they need to feel your support.

My child needs therapy but is not cooperative or interested

Children are often hesitant about new experiences. Therapy is absolutely a new experience that can be considered frightening for some children. We will work to help your child feel comfortable in our facility. You can help your child understand what a therapist.

Kids often associate “appointments” with medical doctors. Some fears associated with doctor’s offices may take over. Help your child understand and have clear expectations about what happens at therapy.

Older children may be concerned that the therapist is working against them. Assuring your child of confidentiality and helping them understand therapists can be great advocates for children may help your child feel empowered.

Talking positively about therapy is crucial to positive therapy experiences for your child. Therapy is not a “punishment” for bad behavior, and should never be used as such.

We know how frustrating it can be to be ready to seek treatment but feel the financial strain. As a community mental-healthcare provider, Willapa Behavioral Health offers payment options for our clients. We will never turn away anyone based on a client’s inability to pay. We are committed to doing whatever we can to work with your budget and your needs.

• Income-based sliding fee scale
• WISe program
• Access to available grants and community resources