Knowing if you should take your child in to see a therapist can be very challenging. Especially when it comes to young children who don’t have the emotional or communication skills to verbalize what they need or how they’re feeling.
Therapy can be very helpful for kids. It can teach children healthy coping skills, how to understand, articulate and express their feelings. Therapy also provides additional support for the whole family, especially during a significant loss such as a divorce or death of a family member or loved one.
According to Mellenthin, a LCSW who works extensively with children and families, significant changes in your child’s behavior or emotionality may be signs they would benefit from therapy.
These might include:
- Crying uncontrollably
- Anger
- Aggressiveness
- Social isolation
- Clinginess
- Bedwetting after being potty-trained for a while
While deciding if your child would benefit from seeing a therapist, I often ask parents to trust their gut, or their intuition. In most cases, parents typically know their children the best and intuitively know if their child would benefit from some additional, professional support. Support that can be provided not just to their child but also to the entire family unit.
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