At ML Family Counselling, children’s therapy is grounded in compassion, safety, and developmental understanding. We provide a supportive environment where your child can express themselves, build skills, and feel understood.
Compassionate Therapy Tailored to Your Child
Children learn to play before they learn to walk or talk. Play is their first language and their most natural form of communication. When your child experiences stress, big emotions, change, or upsetting events, they may not yet have the words to explain what they are feeling.
Children’s therapy offers a structured, supportive space where a trained therapist helps your child express thoughts and feelings through play, art, and creative activities. Toys become words, and play becomes the language children use to share their inner world.
Sessions are designed to feel safe, engaging, and developmentally appropriate, allowing your child to explore emotions, build coping skills, and strengthen confidence at their own pace.
How Therapy Can Support Your Child
Children’s therapy supports your child’s emotional well-being by helping them process and regulate emotions, strengthen relationships, and build coping skills that carry into everyday life. Therapy can be especially helpful during times of stress or change, supporting your child as they navigate school, friendships, family dynamics, and life transitions.
Therapy may support your child if they are experiencing:
- Anxiety, worries, or fears
- Emotional overwhelm or difficulty expressing feelings
- Behavioural or emotional challenges
- Stress related to school or social situations
- Neurodivergent experiences, including ADHD and Autism
- Grief, loss, or family changes
- The impact of upsetting or overwhelming experiences
- Challenges with confidence or self-esteem
Our Approach
Children’s therapy focuses on creating safety, trust, and consistency. Sessions are guided by your child’s developmental stage, emotional needs, and therapeutic goals. Therapy focuses on understanding what your child is experiencing and how best to support emotional growth and well-being.
Evidence-Based and Developmentally Appropriate Care
Therapy for children may draw from evidence-based and age-appropriate approaches such as Play-Based Therapy, Art and Creative Therapy, Music Therapy, AutPlay Therapy, TheraPlay, Attachment-Based Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotion-Focused approaches, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness-Based strategies, and other developmentally appropriate interventions.
Approaches are thoughtfully selected and tailored to your child’s unique needs.
Therapy Process for Children
For children ages 5–12 therapy begins with an initial parent or guardian–only session, allowing you to meet with your child’s therapist and share relevant background information about your child. Following this first session, your child will attend therapy sessions independently.
Please note: A parent or legal guardian (not a sibling) is required to remain on-site in the waiting room for the duration of each appointment.
Parent Involvement in Children’s Therapy
Parent/guardian involvement is an important part of children’s therapy. While sessions focus on supporting your child in an age-appropriate way, parents play a key role in helping children feel safe, supported, and understood.
We take a circle of care approach when working with children. This means therapists may:
- Meet with parents/guardians separately for check-ins or updates
- Offer guidance to help reinforce skills and strategies at home
- Invite parents into sessions when clinically appropriate
- Collaborate to support your child’s well-being outside of therapy
The level and timing of parent involvement is guided by your child’s therapist who will take into account a number of factors including your child’s age, developmental needs, and therapeutic goals. Our aim is to support both your child and your family in building understanding, consistency, and healthy coping strategies.
Clinic Policy for Children
We are committed to providing ethical and developmentally appropriate care for children.
All legal custody and decision-making arrangements must be disclosed prior to the start of services. Documentation may be requested to confirm authority to consent. Depending on your family situation, therapy may require consent from one or both parents or legal guardians.
Therapy for Children Requires:
Consent from at least one parent or legal guardian who has legal authority to make healthcare decisions is required. In addition, your child must provide assent, meaning they agree and are willing to participate in therapy. Both parental consent and child assent must be obtained before services can begin.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you are considering therapy for your child, our therapists are here to support your family.
Contact ML Family Counselling today to book a children’s therapy appointment or to explore whether children’s therapy is the right fit for your child.
