What do I tell my young child or elementary age kid what to expect in therapy?

Speaker: Lisa Shaw, LMFT, CHC's Catherine T. Harvey Center for Clinical Services

Lisa Shaw, LMFT: Hi, my name is Lisa Shaw, and I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist here at CHC. The question today is what do I tell my young child or elementary age kid what to expect in therapy? This is a wonderful question and a question that I often get. The most important thing for all children is to prepare them in advance. Kids of all ages, particularly young children and elementary age kids feel less anxious when they know what to expect from the appointment. You want to use simple language that matches the child's age and stage of development when describing therapy. For example, therapy is a safe place where you can talk to a person called a therapist about feelings, worries and any issues and also do fun things like drawing and playing, or I know that you've been through a tough time lately so we're going to see a therapist. A therapist helps kids and families with their problems and worries feel better. Finally providing reminders in the week leading up to the session and on the day of are important because kids might forget. Providing reassurance that you will be there with them part of the time and that the therapist may want to talk to them alone might also be useful.