Children & Teens (Ages 10+)

When Might a Child or Teen Benefit from Therapy?

Sometimes there isn't one obvious problem. You may simply notice that your child doesn't seem like themselves, is struggling more than usual, or seems to be having difficulty coping. You don't need to know exactly what's wrong before reaching out.

Some reasons a child or teen may benefit from additional support include:

• Anxiety, excessive worry, or fears
• Depression or persistent sadness
• Anger, irritability, or emotional outbursts
• Difficulty understanding or managing emotions
• Stress and feeling overwhelmed
• Low self-esteem or self-confidence
• Social difficulties or friendship concerns
• School-related stress or avoidance
• Perfectionism
• OCD and repetitive thoughts or behaviours
• Grief and loss
• Family changes or conflict
• Difficulty coping with life transitions
• Trauma or difficult experiences
• Sleep difficulties
• Feeling "stuck" or not knowing how to cope

Therapy Looks Different for Children and Teens

Therapy is tailored to each young person's age, developmental level, personality, strengths, and individual needs. Therapy isn't about telling a young person what they should do. It's about helping them understand themselves, develop useful skills, and find strategies that actually work for them.

Therapy with Children May Include:

• Conversation and storytelling
• Activities and creative approaches
• Emotion identification and awareness
• Problem-solving
• Coping skills
• Mindfulness and grounding techniques

Therapy with Adolescents May Focus on:

• Understanding thoughts and emotions
• Managing intense emotions
• Strengthening self-esteem and exploring identity
• Developing healthy relationships 
• Improving communication
• Building independence
• Problem-solving and decision-making

A Collaborative Approach with Parents

Building trust is an important part of working with young people. Children and teens need a space where they can speak openly and feel respected, while parents also need to understand how they can best support their child's therapy. Privacy and confidentiality, including their limits, are discussed openly at the beginning of therapy so that everyone understands what to expect.

Parent involvement depends on the child's age, developmental stage, needs, and treatment goals. Together with the young person, we explore what level of parent involvement feels most helpful, which may include:

• Parents participating in therapy sessions or portions of sessions when helpful. 
• Providing parents with guidance and strategies to support their child outside of therapy.
• Sharing appropriate updates about treatment progress and goals, while respecting the young person's privacy.

Evidence-Based Approaches

Therapy is individualized rather than relying on a single therapeutic model. Different strategies may be incorporated depending on the young person’s age, needs, strengths, and goals.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT helps young people understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours and learn practical strategies for changing patterns that are getting in the way.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

DBT can be particularly helpful for adolescents experiencing intense emotions or difficulty coping by focusing on enhancing emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness skills.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

SFBT focuses on identifying practical changes and building on existing strengths, resources, and successes to help young people move toward their goals.

Recreation Therapy

Recreation Therapy uses meaningful activities and experiences to support emotional well-being, self-awareness, coping, social connection, and skill development. Depending on a young person's needs and interests, therapeutic activities may provide opportunities to explore emotions, build confidence, practise coping strategies, and develop interpersonal skills.

Mindfulness-Based Approaches

Mindfulness-based approaches help young people develop greater awareness of their thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and experiences without reacting immediately. These approaches can support emotional awareness, stress management, and more intentional responses to difficult emotions and situations.

Working with the Whole Family

Individual therapy can be helpful, but sometimes meaningful change also involves the relationships and environment around a young person. When appropriate, therapy may include parents or family members to improve communication, understand patterns, and create a more supportive home environment.

Learn more about Family Therapy.

Meet Jennelle

Jennelle Giesbrecht is a Registered Psychotherapist and the primary therapist at Orillia Therapy Services providing psychotherapy to children and adolescents. She has a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and a background in Recreation Therapy, with more than a decade of experience supporting children, adolescents, young adults, and families, including using creative and activity-based approaches to engage young people.

Jennelle takes a warm, down-to-earth, and collaborative approach, meeting each young person where they are and adapting therapy to their individual needs, interests, and goals. She combines evidence-based therapeutic approaches with meaningful conversation and practical strategies to help young people better understand themselves, build on their strengths, and develop skills they can carry into their everyday lives.