Key Takeaways

• Children can benefit from therapy just as much as adults. However, the methods used in therapy with children can be different.

• Common types of child therapy include play therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, and more.

• Focus on choosing a therapist who specializes in working with children like yours. They can help you navigate the different therapy types and suggest therapies that might be most helpful for your child.

Children go to therapy for many reasons. Some children may go to therapy after going through a major life event, like their parent’s divorce or the loss of a pet.

Others may need support for behavioral concerns related to impulse control difficulties. Some youth, especially teens, may work with a therapist to work through more serious concerns like self-harm or eating disorders.

Regardless of why your child could benefit from therapy, it’s important to know the options that you have available to you. In this guide, we go over the most common types of child therapy, including factors to consider for which type may be best for your child.

6 Common Types of Child Therapy

Here are some of the most common types of child therapy. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it describes most child therapy methods that are effective for common mental health concerns. 

In addition, these therapy types aren’t mutually exclusive — in other words, many child therapists use more than one type. 

For example, your teen may participate in one type of individual therapy, while also participating in family therapy with you and other important family members.

A play therapist working with a younger child might interweave concepts of cognitive-behavioral therapy during the process.

Play Therapy – Best for younger children

Research shows that play therapy is most helpful for younger children (preschool and school-aged). 

When you think of “therapy,” you may imagine sitting in an office with a mental health professional and talking through your thoughts and feelings.

This is called talk therapy, or psychotherapy. But young children don’t have the brain development, or the verbal language skills, to adequately describe their internal experiences through talking. 

Play therapy works by allowing children to express their emotions and experiences through play, which is their natural way of communicating.

For example, a play therapist may observe the child’s play patterns and interactions with toys or activities, which can reveal emotions and unresolved conflicts. Through play, children can work through painful feelings and memories.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – Ideal for anxiety and behavior challenges

CBT is arguably the most common therapy technique that’s used today. It’s been found to be effective for a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and oppositional defiant disorder.

CBT is an umbrella term that can include many, more specific therapy techniques. They all have one thing in common: they’re based on the interconnected relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Through CBT, therapists help people change their thinking patterns or their behaviors, which then helps them feel better.

With an older child or teen, CBT could look like teaching healthy coping skills, like breathing techniques, to deal with anxiety and stress. It could also include learning about common distorted thinking patterns — like all-or-nothing thinking — that might be making them feel worse.

Family Therapy – When parental involvement is crucial

Family therapy involves the whole family, whatever that looks like for each child. Especially for children and teens, parent involvement is essential in the therapy process. What goes on in the home affects the child’s mental health, and vice versa.

Family therapy addresses the dynamics within the family and works to heal relationships.

Parent involvement can also take the form of parent management training. This is slightly different from family therapy, as the primary caregivers can participate in sessions without other family members present.

Parent management training helps caregivers learn how to interact with and best support their child. It can include techniques for healthy play as well as positive discipline.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – Best for emotional regulation

DBT is a therapy method that was originally created to help people with painful emotions and suicidal thoughts.

DBT is effective for teen eating disorders, reducing self-harm, and more.

DBT focuses on teaching young people healthy coping skills, including mindfulness and distraction techniques, to manage strong and painful emotions.

DBT also helps improve interpersonal skills so that relationship problems are no longer a source of emotional pain.

Art and Music Therapy – Creative ways to help kids express emotions

Like play therapy, creative and expressive therapies — like art, music, and movement therapy — provide an outlet for young people to express emotions and process memories in a way that may feel more accessible to them than talking.

For example, through art therapy, a child might use drawing or painting to depict a traumatic memory or a difficult emotion. 

Although we need more robust research to fully understand how these therapies work, some studies suggest that art and music therapy can improve child well-being and mental health. 

Other Therapies for Children

Other types of child therapy include: 

• Psychodynamic therapy: This therapy focuses on uncovering unconscious thoughts, emotions, and past experiences that may be affecting a child’s current behaviors and feelings. It’s often used to help children process trauma, grief, or deep-seated fears.

• Trauma-based therapies: Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and other trauma-informed approaches help children process traumatic experiences and learn coping strategies to reduce distress and triggers.

• Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT): PCIT is a structured therapy that teaches parents how to strengthen their bond with their child and manage difficult behaviors in a supportive and effective way. It’s often used for children with impulse control issues like oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

• Animal-assisted therapy: This therapy incorporates trained animals, such as therapy dogs or horses, to help children feel more comfortable in the therapeutic process. 

• Habit reversal training: This evidence-based approach is used to help children manage and reduce unwanted repetitive behaviors, like tics, nail-biting, thumb-sucking, or skin-picking, by teaching alternative behaviors and awareness techniques.

• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR is a structured therapy that helps children process traumatic memories using guided eye movements. It has been found to be highly effective for PTSD and other trauma-related conditions.

How to Choose the Right Therapy for Your Child

Choosing the “best” therapy type for your child can feel like an overwhelming decision to make. Thankfully, it’s not a decision that you need to make on your own.

Most therapists who work with children are trained in a variety of treatment methods. Focus on finding the right therapist, and they can help you consider which therapy might be right for your child’s situation.

Factors to consider

When you’re choosing a therapist for your child, consider the following factors:

• Your child’s age: Some therapists may specialize in working with infants and toddlers (0 to 5), while others may work with teens or other ages. Look for a therapist who has experience with your child’s specific age group. The therapy methods they use will be more tailored to that age range.

• Qualifications: In addition to a general license to practice therapy, you may want to look for additional training and qualifications. For example, a play therapist may be credentialed by the Association for Play Therapy.

• Reason for therapy: Consider the reason your child could benefit from therapy. If they have a mental health condition, then it’s important to find a therapist who has experience treating that condition. There are therapy styles that work better for some mental health conditions than others.

• Fit and style: Lastly, your child needs to be able to bond with their therapist. So it’s important that your child themselves feels safe and comfortable, and that they think the therapist is a good fit. This is especially important for teens, who are growing in independence.

Questions to ask a therapist before starting

You may want to ask any potential therapists questions to figure out their style and the type of child therapy they’ll be providing.

You can ask questions like:

• What therapy methods do you recommend for my child?

• What experience do you have working with children like mine?

• What will my involvement be like as a parent? Will I participate in joint sessions?

• Will you need the participation of other family members?

Next Steps: Child Therapy with Emora Health

 It can be confusing to navigate the different types of child therapy. But there’s not necessarily a “best” choice. Different types of therapy can be helpful for different children and concerns. Talk to your therapist for support in figuring out which therapy may be best for your child.

At Emora Health, we have a network of child therapists who provide a wide variety of child therapy methods. You can easily scan our therapists’ specialties, including the methods they use and age groups they work with, on their profiles. Whether your child needs emotional support through DBT, family therapy, or something else, we’ve got you covered.

Sources

1. Gupta, N., Chaudhary, R., Gupta, M., Ikehara, L., Zubiar, F., & Madabushi, J. S. (2023). Play Therapy As Effective Options For School-Age Children With Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Case series. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40093

2. Halder, S., & Mahato, A. K. (2019). Cognitive Behavior therapy for Children and Adolescents: Challenges and Gaps in practice. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 41(3), 279–283. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpsym.ijpsym_470_18

3. Kothgassner, O. D., Goreis, A., Robinson, K., Huscsava, M. M., Schmahl, C., & Plener, P. L. (2021). Efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy for adolescent self-harm and suicidal ideation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 51(7), 1057–1067. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291721001355

4. Moula, Z., Powell, J., & Karkou, V. (2022). Qualitative and Arts-Based Evidence from Children Participating in a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study of School-Based Arts Therapies. Children, 9(6), 890. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9060890

5. Pappas, S. (n.d.). More than 20% of teens have seriously considered suicide.  Psychologists and communities can help tackle the problem. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/07/psychologists-preventing-teen-suicide

6. Vogel, E. N., Singh, S., & Accurso, E. C. (2021). A systematic review of cognitive behavior therapy and dialectical behavior therapy for adolescent eating disorders. Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-021-00461-1