Therapy for Children in Redwood City and Bay Area CA

For this reason, therapy is active, structured, and developmentally attuned. Sessions may include:

• Play-based interventions
• Emotion identification and regulation exercises
• Behavioral skill building
• Structured CBT adaptations
• Parent coaching and collaboration

We prioritize safety, predictability, and connection so children feel understood while building new skills.

Anxiety

Anxiety in children can look like excessive worry, stomach aches, irritability, perfectionism, clinginess, sleep difficulties, or school refusal. Therapy helps children understand that emotions are signals—not threats.
Children learn practical coping strategies such as breathing and grounding skills, and when appropriate, they gradually face feared situations with support. For example, a child with separation anxiety might practice short separations paired with self-regulation techniques to build confidence and tolerance.

Behavioral Challenges

Tantrums, aggression, defiance, or refusal to follow directions are often signs that a child is overwhelmed. What appears as defiance may be anxiety. What looks like aggression may be frustration, sensory overload, or difficulty expressing needs.

Therapy focuses on identifying patterns that reinforce these behaviors and teaching alternative ways to communicate, tolerate frustration, and regulate impulses. Parent collaboration is essential in reinforcing new skills across settings.

Depression and Withdrawal
In children, depression often presents as irritability, low motivation, sleep disruption, or withdrawal from previously enjoyed activities. Therapy incorporates behavioral activation strategies to help children reconnect with meaningful experiences while building emotional awareness.

Trauma and Grief
Children who have experienced abuse, accidents, medical trauma, or significant loss benefit from specialized, trauma-informed care. Trauma can disrupt a child’s sense of safety and attachment. Treatment may include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) to help children process difficult experiences in a structured and supportive way.

Grief is addressed in developmentally appropriate ways, recognizing that children often move in and out of grief reactions.