5 Signs Your Child May Benefit from Counseling

5 Signs Your Child May Benefit from Counseling

How Do I Know If My Child Needs Counseling?

How many times did you as a parent not know what to do with your children? There was an incident at school, your child’s grades started plummeting, or maybe your child’s sleeping and eating patterns shifted. There are so many things to consider, and more than enough information online. It is challenging to make the right call as to whether the issues your child face warrant therapy. Sometimes we can’t be sure if these challenges are just part of growing up, or if they require some outside support. Here are 5 signs your child might benefit from counseling:

1. Persistent Feelings (i.e., longer than 3 months)

• Sadness
• Hopelessness
• Anger
• Anxiety
• Fearfulness
• Depression
• Worry
• Reclusiveness
• Feeling out of control
• Violent outbursts

These feelings, if persistent in your child’s daily life and conversations, are signs that they may benefit from counseling. Whatever the root cause may be, these feelings, if left untreated, rarely lead to a child living well.

2. Preoccupations and Obsessions

If your child is preoccupied with physical illness and disease, or believe that they are constantly ill, despite that not being the case, can be a sign that your child could benefit from therapy and counseling. In the same way, if your child grows obsessed with:

• Routines
• Washing hands
• Their own appearance, like their shape and size
• Keeping things organized

If any of these become points of mania or emotional explosiveness, speaking with a counselor can help break those cycles.

3. Sudden Changes of Behavior

A clear sign of when counseling may be needed is whenever a child loses interest in activities that were once enjoyed. The same can be said for sudden, somewhat drastic changes in:

• Sleep
• Eating
• Grooming
• Unexplained drops in grades

While children are constantly changing and growing into their own identities, and so much information and experience affects them, there are certain parts of life that remain steady in the midst of their transformation. Clothes and music choices change, but behaviors and daily life patterns mostly stay the same. If those areas begin to change, whatever they are, finding a safe and objective person to work through these changes, like a counselor, can be quite helpful.

4. Inability to…

• Concentrate
• Complete tasks
• Make decisions
• Sit still at appropriate times
• Regulate emotions
• Let mistakes go
• Express their needs

Developing mastery in these areas if a part of your child’s maturity. And they take time to master. If your child seems to be unable to grow in these areas appropriately for their age, counseling can give your child the right tools.

5. Violent, Destructive, and Dangerous Activity

Some matters with our children are clear. These behaviors and activities are clear signs that your child requires support:

• Expressing suicidal thoughts
• Alcohol and substance abuse
• Cutting or other bodily mutilations/self-harm
• Physically attacking and fighting others without cause
• Obsessiveness over weapons or violent acts
• Dieting obsessively, or binging followed by vomiting or taking laxatives
• Taking part in violent acts such as setting fires or abusing animals

We’re Here to Help!

Our clinicians specialize in counseling children as young as 5 years old at our offices in Fort Collins. Feel free to give us a call to learn how counseling could be helpful or to schedule an appointment. You can reach us at (970) 889-8204 or contact@coloradocac.com.