Behavioral
Health Services

While each therapist can do things a bit different, here are some things you can expect when your child begins therapy.

Depending on the age of your child, many child therapists complete the first initial intake appointment with just the parents or caregivers so that you can talk openly about concerns and issues that may not be developmentally appropriate to discuss in front of your child. This is a great opportunity to help the therapist get to know your child and your family system. You will share about your child’s individual needs, strengths and challenges but also family dynamics, family history of mental health or substance use issues, traumatic events, background information about your child’s early development and other important aspects of your child’s life to aid in the therapeutic process. The goal in the first session is for the therapist to begin to understand your child’s needs, know how they can help, and answer any questions and concerns you may have.

With children, there is often a high amount of parent involvement in therapy as we know parents/caregivers are vital to children making progress in therapy. You will have plenty of opportunities to discuss your concerns and review their progress with the child’s therapist. We suggest making contact with your child’s therapist at any point in the process if you have questions, concerns or would like to provide feedback. There may be times when your child’s therapist provides you with psycho-education, suggestions, or recommendations to aid in your child achieving their goals.

Goals will be the guide posts for therapy and make discussing progress in therapy more clear. You, your child, and your child’s therapist will work together to establish goals. Goals will be personalized to their unique needs and will likely change over time as your child develops new skills and faces new challenges.