Why Understanding Matters More Than Managing Behavior

 

For parents of children and teens with big feelings…

Parents often bring their kids to therapy feeling frustrated, confused, or worn down by their child or teen’s behavior. The emotional outbursts, the withdrawal, the snarkiness or refusal to talk — it can all feel overwhelming. In those moments, it’s natural to reach for strategies: What consequence will work? How can I stop the yelling? What can I say to get through?

But from a psychodynamic perspective, we start somewhere deeper.

We begin with understanding — because behavior, especially intense behavior, is almost always a messenger.

🧠 Helping Kids Build Emotional Strength

Emotional regulation and resilience are skills—not traits kids are born with. For kids with more highly sensitive temperaments, strengthening emotional regulation and resilience is a process that takes time and support. So, we’re sharing simple ways you can help your child build emotional strength, one moment at a time. 💪💚

Helping Your Teen Stay Safe on Social Media

 

If you’re raising a pre-teen or teen right now, you probably already know how much social media is part of their world. It’s how they connect with friends, discover new interests, and figure out who they are. While that can feel exciting, it can also feel scary as a parent. You might even wonder if the safest choice is to ban social media altogether.

Nurturing an Authentic Sense of Self in Pre-Teen Girls

As a child psychotherapist, I often see pre-teen girls grappling with the challenge of developing an authentic sense of self. This stage of life is filled with rapid developmental changes, both physical and emotional, and it can be difficult for young girls to navigate these changes while staying true to themselves. Here are some strategies that can help pre-teen girls work toward developing an authentic sense of self:

Teens Understanding Anxiety: How Talking About Your Feelings Can Help You Feel Better

Have you ever wondered how to help your teen understand what anxiety is and why talking about their feelings can bring them some relief? If so, here’s what you can say. Read on…

Making the Sunday Scaries Less Scary 🫣

Are the “Sunday Scaries” ruining your weekends? As a parent myself, I know a crying, flopping, venting, whining, anxious and/or depressed kiddo will wear everyone down and make the simplest tasks feel impossibly overwhelming. The data say this is very real, and we know it is hard, hard, hard! 

Oh, what to do, what to do?

How to Lessen Leaning on Screen with Youngers Kids

We know that most parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend on devices and behind screens. It can be especially challenging in high-stress situations, as we often find ourselves turning to technology to help our kiddos calm down when feeling overwhelmed or in a challenging situation or environment. While it’s important to keep a balance between device time and other activities, having a toolbox for tough situations will make it much easier to help your child to better manage their big feelings.

Here are some non-screen ideas to help children to manage emotions:

About Child Therapy Chicago

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Child or Teen Behavior Problems, Big Emotions or Anxiety?

Free Hour Session For Parents, Call (312) 768-8746.

Spring Break Ideas for Kids and Teens

 

With spring break approaching, parents can start to feel overwhelmed with how to fill their kids’ days and how to handle the break in routines and schedules. It can be even more challenging in the case of families with Highlighly Sensitive Children or children and teens who struggle with BIG feelings.

That being said, it’s important to remember that there are also benefits to taking a break, as it provides a time for children’s and teens’ brains and bodies to rejuvenate and if offers the opportunity for families to reconnect and reset. Suddenly having no routines and much less structure means, on the one hand, that we need to plan ahead and try to create some kind of loose schedule to make the time easier to handle, and on the other hand, that we need to let kids have good old fashioned free time. Instead of focusing on empty days and no obligations, think about how to make this time fun for you and your kids AND how to give your kids the space to figure out what to do on their own. Spring Break is a good opportunity to take advantage of some newfound quality time and independence. 

Here are some ideas that can help make the most of your time! 

Signs of Anxiety in Children and Teens

It seems like you can’t go anywhere without hearing about the rise of anxiety in our post-pandemic world. While we’ve come a long way by bringing the conversation about mental health to the forefront, we can’t forget that all of the factors that contribute to our anxiety are also having their own separate effects on our kids. 

It is so difficult to try and get inside of our children and teens’ heads and, as parents, we never want to think that even our youngest kids may be struggling with stressors and anxieties. That being said, being aware and being able to get ahead of some of these issues can make all the difference.