Is your child a mystery to you? Do you find yourself wondering how that little bundle of joy your child was a few years ago turned into the sullen, defiant and irritable stranger slouching around your house? Are you tired of getting calls from the school or, worse yet, from law enforcement? Is he or she making suicidal threats or attempts? Was your child sexually or physically abused? Does it seem to you they are the ones controlling the household instead of you? Do you sometimes feel you're the child in the relationship? Counseling can help.

Counseling children and adolescents requires a variety of skills and techniques. Approaching a teenager's problems is quite different than working with a 5 or 6 year old. Every child in any given age range is different so therapy must be tailored individually to meet each child's needs. Some teenagers are eager to get help with what's bothering them; others are just as resistant in the beginning in the counselor's office as they are at home. For those children it takes time to overcome their mistrust and find a common ground. On the other hand, most younger children, once they've overcome their anxiety about the unknown, look forward to sessions and respond quickly to therapy.

Child and adolescent counseling works best when paired with family therapy and parent skills training. A child's problems don't occur in isolation; they're often a manifestation of stressors and difficulties within the family as a whole. If these problems aren't addressed, positive outcomes may take longer to achieve.