Counselling for Children & Teens • Burnaby, Langley & Kelowna

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a common form of short-term, goal-oriented therapy that recognizes the interconnected relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Using CBT, clients work with their counsellor to identify negative thoughts and beliefs, and replace them with more realistic and productive ways of thinking.

CBT can be an effective tool to help anyone learn how to better manage depression, anxiety, and stressful life events.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is an empirically supported form of short-term therapy that focuses on the transformation of emotion. Using EFT, clients work with their counsellor to develop strategies to better identify, experience, explore, and manage their emotional experiences.

EFT can be an effective tool to help individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, and trauma-related stress.

Play Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach used to help children explore their thoughts and feelings through play. With Play Therapy, children are provided a safe environment where they’re encouraged to play and express themselves. The counsellor observes the child’s behaviour and helps them learn to address their problems and communicate their feelings in a way that’s positive, respectful, and empathetic.

Research shows that Play Therapy can be an effective tool to help children experiencing a wide range of social, emotional, behavioural, and learning difficulties, including:

• Anger, aggression, & acting out
• Anxiety, fears, & timidity
• Social dynamics
• School & academic difficulties
• Self-esteem concerns
• Depression, grief, & loss
• Family transitions
• Crisis & trauma
• Child abuse & neglect

Learn more about Play Therapy.

A psychoeducational assessment is completed by a Registered Psychologist. It is an assessment that primarily examines a child’s cognitive and academic abilities using standardized tests. Often, a psychoeducational assessment also includes some evaluation of social, emotional and behavioural functioning. The assessment process includes an initial parent interview, followed by testing sessions with the child, behavioural observations, rating scales completed by parents and teachers, and review of report cards and previous reports. Conducting a psychoeducational assessment may be beneficial for any child who has struggled with reading, writing, or math; classroom functioning, challenges with attention that affect learning, and/or who has expressed significant frustration and stress while learning. The results of this assessment helps the Psychologist understand the child’s cognitive and learning profile, and identify strengths and weaknesses in these domains. From there, the psychologist can provide guidance to parents/guardians and schools regarding educational planning and ways to best support the child's learning. A psychoeducational assessment may or may not lead to a diagnosis (e.g., of a learning disability, intellectual disability, ADHD).

Family Systems Therapy is a form of psychotherapy which is built on the premise that what happens to one family member happens to every family member. As a result, individuals cannot be understood in isolation but as part of a larger family unit. Using the Family Systems Therapy approach, clients explore how their current behaviours and relationships have been shaped by their unique family dynamics, and develop new perspectives about themselves that are not limited by family roles and rules.

Family Systems Therapy can be an effective tool to help anyone experiencing depression, anxiety, and disordered eating.