Child Psychologists and Child Therapists in Hamilton, ON.

There are a wide range of issues that affect children - they are vulnerable to many kinds of maltreatment and increasing stressors in our culture. However children often find it difficult to express their feelings and fears, which means that problems can be left undetected and unresolved. It is helpful then, to seek professional help if a child seems unhappy or distressed. With children, the construction of a trusting relationship between counsellor and client is especially important. Sometimes the counsellor will use puppets or sandboxes or play therapy to allow the child to tell their own story. In a safe trusting environment, the child can find their way towards emotional health.

Children can often exhibit externalizing or internalizing behaviors when they are unable to express themselves or process/cope with their feelings and emotions. Therapy can be a safe space for children to make sense of their feelings through creative and engaging means. Depending on age, working with young children can entail working with parents on how to best support their child in what they are going through and to give parents a space to reflect on the kind of parent they want to be while expressing concerns or personal challenges they may be experiencing. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ensure we are a good fit.

While I do not work with youth under the age of 16, our clinic has many child and family therapists who are availability to schedule a free consultation. Since children are often impacted by family dynamics, we often find the most effective way to work with children, ages 6-11, is within the context of family therapy. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with one of our child and family therapists by visiting https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/services/child-and-family-therapy

Children can experience various challenges that can impact their mental health. Therapy can offer children a safe space and a listening ear while providing different tools and skills to support them in creating change and alleviating distressing emotions and feelings. When working with young children, I seek to get to know them and create a caring, safe and interactive environment where they can explore and learn about their feelings, work through difficulties, better understand themselves and others and learn new ways of engaging with themselves and the world. Schedule a free consultation with me to see if we are a good fit.

I specialize in working with children ages 4 and up. My goal is to create a warm, inviting environment where children need the opportunity to express themselves, but they also need to be able to do it in the way that comes most naturally to them: play. I believe it's important that kids can have a place where they can have fun and develop their natural potential. This may mean learning to express emotions, improving behaviour or learning coping skills

One of our lovely psychotherapists, Anna, is passionate about supporting children, youth, and young adults, as well as their parents. As a psychotherapist and a teacher, she is interested in supporting children and adolescents with challenges related to school, including academic success, special education needs, bullying, self-esteem and peer relationships. She draws on various interventions, theories, experiences and techniques to support our young clients well, including art therapy, movement based psychotherapy and dialectical behavioural therapy.

Therapeutic art making works really well with young children as they often have difficulty expressing their feelings with words. I use this technique in counselling young children along with interview style counselling, to provide a non-threatening way to communicate with young children about their feelings and experiences. Children are far more expressive in their artwork, and tend to communicate their inner worlds through their drawings. I tap into their experiences using their art and work with parents to resolve issues the child may be dealing with. Often I have parents create art with their child to help them gain insight into their child’s experiences.

There are a wide range of issues that affect children - they are vulnerable to many kinds of maltreatment and increasing stressors in our culture. However children often find it difficult to express their feelings and fears, which means that problems can be left undetected and unresolved. It is helpful then, to seek professional help if a child seems unhappy or distressed. With children, the construction of a trusting relationship between counsellor and client is especially important. Sometimes the counsellor will use puppets or sandboxes or play therapy to allow the child to tell their own story. In a safe trusting environment, the child can find their way towards emotional health.

Children’s behaviour is often a reflection of their internal experience. Including parents/caregivers in therapy can provide the opportunity for parents to help their child better understand their emotional experiences, to facilitate helpful communication, and to provide an environment that fosters both security and independence. I work with individuals, couples, children and families. Book a free consultation to explore if we are a good fit for therapy.

It can be especially scary when a child struggles, because it can be so hard for them to communicate and as adults, we often want to protect them from the things that can hurt them. On top of that, we know that the struggles of childhood can go on to affect adulthood. Fortunately, through different types of counselling, such as play therapy and attachment therapy, young children are often able to find a means of communication and are able to express themselves and their struggles.

With my many years in education I am able and skilled at working with and relating to children and adolescents. Childhood should be a time for healthy growth and development. For many children and teens, it is a time of great emotional stress. Children react to stress in many ways including withdrawal and acting out behaviors at home and school. I am here to help children and families learn the life skills necessary to be successful and happy. Family counseling may help to promote better relationships and understanding within your family. There is no shame in needing support. Family counseling during a divorce, or a child experiencing trauma can help all of you find some peace.