Is Your Child Having Difficulty Adjusting to a Recent Change?

• Is your child experiencing difficulty adjusting to a transition, such as a family move,
  divorce, or challenges related to COVID-19?

• Have you noticed behavioral or emotional changes in your child, such as irritability,
  moodiness or withdrawal?

• Is your child suddenly having difficulty in school or with a peer or sibling?

• Are you feeling overwhelmed or frustrated by your child’s behavior?

• Do you wish you knew how to help ease your child’s adjustment?

Life transitions can be challenging, especially for children whose brains are still developing and have limited life experience to draw from. A family move, change of school, or divorce can leave children feeling as if their world has been turned upside down and there is little they can do about it. When their sense of comfort and security is threatened, children may act out or, alternatively, withdraw.

Perhaps your child has exhibited recent trouble at school, such as a drop in grades or behavioral issues.  It is not uncommon for children undergoing a difficult transition to react angrily or in attention-seeking ways. Children may also overanalyze the recent change(s) and even blame themselves for the new circumstances. In this case your child may seem sad, highly sensitive or unusually anxious.

Regardless of how your child exhibits his or her distress, you as a parent are likely feeling overwhelmed and concerned yourself. It is never easy to witness your child struggle and when one family member is suffering, the entire famly is often impacted.

If you have noticed significant behavioral, emotional or academic changes in your child following a life transition, seeking help from an experienced child therapist can provide insight, guidance and relief.

Child Therapy Can Help Ease Child Adjustment Issues

Child therapy for child adjustment issues can be highly effective for children struggling to adapt to change. Our child therapists have a great deal of expertise and experience helping children and their families manage difficult life transitions. In a safe and nonjudgmental counseling environment, both you and your child can receive the support and guidance needed to navigate this new emotional terrain.

In child counseling sessions, your Orenstein Solutions therapist will use age appropriate approaches to help your child understand recent changes and cope with the related emotions that are causing him or her pain. Play therapy and other creative techniques often foster emotional exploration and expression so that your child doesn’t turn his or her feelings inward, or act out.

Through child therapy, your child can come to understand that this transition is not his or her fault and that he or she is not alone; many other children undergo similar experiences and also struggle. An Orenstein Solutions child therapist can help your son or daughter recognize how he or she can harness his or her strengths to make the best of change and feel empowered in new situations. Your child can develop problem solving skills and healthy approaches to stressful situations that not only provide him or her immediate relief, but build resiliency for future life challenges.

Therapy for Child Adjustment Issues Benefits the Entire Family

Your Orenstein Soltuions child therapist can also help you, as a parent, better understand your child’s specific needs so that you can provide him or her the best possible support. Together, you and your child’s therapist can tailor and implement effective strategies to respond to your child’s challenging behavior and ensure that he or she feels safe and loved in the midst of a difficult transition.

The communication and parenting skills you develop with your child’s therapist will not only benefit you and your child, but can also help restore harmony among the entire family. With the guidance of a supportive and experienced child therapist, you can feel more confident and compentent as a parent so that your family can thrive.

Although you may believe that therapy could help you and your child better understand and navigate adjustment issues, you still may have questions or concerns…

I think that therapy could help, but I’m concerned about the cost and time that counseling will require.

We encourage you to consider child therapy as a valuable investment not only in your child, but also in your family as a whole system. Child adjustment issues can be challenging to understand, which can cause increased stress and chaos at home. When one member of a family is suffering, it’s likely that the others are suffering as well. Seeking help at the onset of your child’s behavioral and emotional issues can prevent negative patterns from developing and taking hold.

Every child and family is different, and so the therapy process and length will vary. However, engaging in child therapy early can give you and your child the tools needed to manage the current and future challenges.  In the long run, this can save time, money and emotional distress for the entire family.

How do I know if this is a phase that my child will grow out of or if something deeper and more serious is occurring?

You know your child best. If you feel that something is not right, seeking a consultation with one of our experienced child therapists can help to determine if your child’s behavior is within the scope of normal – given the circumstances – or if there is cause for real concern.

I’m a parent. We’ve gone through tough times before. I should be able to handle this on my own.

For one reason or another, the tools and strategies that were effective in helping your child in the past are no longer working. This could be because of the intensity of the change or perhaps because your child has entered into a new developmental stage and is now older and more complex. Parenting strategies that work at one stage of development often do not work at another. Seeking help is not an indication that you are not parenting well. Rather, you’re seeking resources to help you navigate something new and unfamiliar.

During times of change, getting support and developing effective tools can help you, your child and your family experience renewed harmony. Being proactive and getting help immediately can also prevent negative behaviors from becoming entrenched and give all members of your family skills that can be used when stress and change arise in the future.