Atlanta Child Therapist
Takeaway: If you have a sensitive kiddo and feel overwhelmed by their emotional needs, you’re not alone. Highly sensitive children have unique strengths and stressors that require special support. Child counseling in Atlanta can help your child (and entire family) find more peace and harmony in your daily lives. Get started today!
Our approach to child counseling in Atlanta, GA
At Rooted Rhythm Therapy, we use play therapy methods as the cornerstone of our work with children. Play is a child's most natural language. Using this approach helps us to meet your child where they're at and make sure that they feel truly seen and heard.
Our play therapy room is a safe space where children can truly be themselves without fear of judgment. When we let children express themselves in this way, we can help them process their experiences and learn more about themselves. Our therapists deeply attune to your child so they can feel understood.
We also recognize parents as an integral part of the play therapy process. While healing happens in the context of the therapeutic relationship, it must also be carried over into the parent-child relationship. We partner with parents to help them better understand themselves and their children.
Since we incorporate parent coaching into each child therapy session, you'll leave feeling empowered to help both yourself and your child face emotions head-on. We also suggest that parents complete our TUNED IN parenting course to engage in their own learning process during the journey.
What we can help with
Highly sensitive children
Our play therapists specialize in helping highly sensitive children. These kiddos feel deeply, often picking up on the energy of those around them. While their empathy is a superpower in some ways, it can also lead to overwhelm and other challenges.
We help highly sensitive children thrive by helping them embrace their emotions and teaching their parents how to give them the special support they need. Not sure if your child is highly sensitive? Check out our What is a Highly Sensitive Child? blog post or take our Highly Sensitive Child test.
Gifted children
Many highly sensitive children are also gifted in one way or another. These kiddos have unique strengths and abilities that separate them from their peers. While these gifts are worth celebrating, this experience can also make children feel lonely and struggle with self-esteem (more on that in this blog post).
It may sound counterintuitive, but we support gifted kiddos by helping them lean into what makes them unique. These differences are real, and validating those feelings will help your child accept them and discover what they truly need. Similarly, we also teach parents of gifted children how to hold space for their child's feelings, even when it's difficult.
Big feelings like sadness or anger
Gifted and highly sensitive children feel their feelings deeply. While this is one of your child's strengths, it can also be overwhelming for both you and your kiddo.
Our therapists help children (and parents!) embrace their big feelings. By using tools like our butterfly body scan, children learn how to feel their feelings without letting dysregulation completely take over. Plus, these tools can help parents calm their own emotions to serve as a model for their children.
Mental health issues like anxiety or trauma
Unfortunately, children aren't immune from mental health challenges. Since they're so in tune with those around them, highly sensitive children are especially prone to feelings of anxiety. However, there is plenty we can do to support them and help them build resilience in the face of these stressors.
We also have special expertise in helping children process traumatic events. No matter what kind of life changes your family is navigating, we can support you and your kiddo. By helping you both lean into your emotions, you can find a deeper, more supportive connection even in the face of hardship.
Teens struggling with self-esteem, identity development, and relationships
While we specialize in helping children ages 2-12, our therapists can also support older children. We use many of the same principles to help sensitive adolescents and teenagers navigate issues with identity, self-esteem, and their relationship to themselves and others.
The process is slightly different in order to align with this age group's developmental stages. Parents are less involved in teen therapy, and we require consent from our adolescent and teen clients. We highly encourage parents to do their own reflective work through our TUNED IN parenting course, but it is not required as it is with child therapy.
Understanding the Rooted Rhythm™️ process
Parent orientation. Following our complimentary consultation call, we begin our work with a 90-minute parent orientation session. During this session, you can ask questions and get comfortable with your child's therapist. This is also an opportunity for your therapist to learn more about your child and what your family is seeking from the process.
Child therapy sessions. After orientation, the core of the child therapy work begins! Sessions take place over a three-month period during which your child comes in for 50-minute weekly play therapy sessions. The final ten minutes of each session are reserved for parent coaching.
Parenting support: throughout your child’s therapeutic experience, you have the opportunity to engage in your own healing and growing as caregivers, if you choose to take the TUNED IN parenting course and attend optional weekly ROOTED RISING parent connection calls with our lead parent coach, Sophie Schauermann LCSW. These weekly calls (on Wednesdays at 12pm MT) give you an opportunity to ask questions, get support, and feel connected to like minded parents. You can also set up individual parent coaching sessions as needed
Parent closing session. Following the twelve child therapy sessions, the entire family will close out our work together with a 50-minute session. During this appointment, we'll review and celebrate your collective progress and make a plan for sustained growth.
Ongoing support. While many families feel empowered to continue their work together independently, know that our Atlanta child therapists are here for you as needed. If you'd like ongoing support, you can continue attending our weekly calls, or come back in for tune-up therapy and/or coaching sessions.
FOR PARENTS OF TEENAGERS:
Our process for working with teens is different due to the very different developmental stage they are experiencing. Some key differences include:
Less parent involvement in therapy process
When working with teens, we meet for a single session with parents at the beginning of treatment, then prioritize trusting our teens to primarily guide their therapeutic process. It is both therapeutic and beneficial to communicate to teens that we trust them, by giving them space to be in their process with their therapist.
With that said, we often encourage teens to communicate their emotional needs more clearly to their parents and even invite parents into therapy when the time is right…but we give space for our teens to initiate parent involvement when they are ready. Our goal is to connect with parents for a 10 min check in at least every other week, with the permission of their teen.
Although it can be scary to unhook from our young teens, it is developmentally appropriate for teens to be creating some boundaries with their parents in this way, so they can form their unique sense of identity and belonging. A strong bond with a therapist during this time can insure that a safe adult is available to support this process.
A consensual agreement
We specialize in supporting highly sensitive teens who often need support with self esteem, identity development, sexuality, peer relationships, and healthy connection to their family. We do require the teens who work with us are choosing to engage in therapy themselves
Parenting support
Parents of teens also benefit greatly from diving into the TUNED IN course to support their own therapeutic work while their pre-teen or teen is working with our therapists. Additionally we are happy to offer 1 on 1 parent coaching or individual adult therapy to support parents as they navigate the challenging yet rewarding tasks of raising a teenager.
Varying lengths of time in therapy
Length of treatment also varies for our teenage clients. We recommend starting with weekly therapy for at least 8 weeks for your teen to build a connection with their therapist. Many teens benefit from longer term care following this initial connection period which would could look like weekly, biweekly, or eventually monthly therapy.
Want to know more and see if our programs are a fit for your family? Learn more about our therapists here, and contact us for a free consultation here.
Why choose our Atlanta child therapists
We understand that choosing a therapist for your child is a highly personal and vulnerable process. We firmly believe that finding a good fit is an essential component of therapeutic growth and healing. Here are a few reasons why we may be the right match for your family. If you're still not sure, we invite you to schedule a free consultation call to learn more about us.
We specialize in supporting highly sensitive children. Highly sensitive kiddos have unique strengths and needs that require specialized support. Plus, we understand that many highly sensitive children also have highly sensitive parents. We help sensitive parents and children embrace their emotions and learn coping skills that actually work to find healing and harmony within the family unit.
We make sure the whole family is involved. While our play therapy services are geared toward children, we essentially provide family therapy. Parents are highly involved throughout the entire process. By taking this holistic approach, we make sure that everyone in the family is on the same page and can be connected in their emotional growth. We've seen firsthand how transformative it can be for parents to do their own inner work throughout their child's therapeutic experience.
We deeply believe in your child's innate ability to heal. It can be difficult to truly see and celebrate your child's strengths when you feel overwhelmed by their big emotions. However, we know that your child (and you too, parents!) is incredibly resilient. By turning toward big feelings and making space for expression, we find that healing occurs naturally.
Kind words from clients
While we're eager to show you how we can help your family, you don't have to take our word for it. We've helped hundreds of families find deeper connection and ease in their day-to-day life. Here are some kind words to help you understand how we can support you.
★★★★★ "Sophie came recommended to me by a friend and I couldn’t be more thankful we found her. She is intelligent and supportive with an open, calming nature that helped our son feel safety and warmth in her play therapy room. Sophie’s method of parent coaching via online courses and in-person meetings alongside child play-therapy has helped our family learn, grow and heal. My son still asks if he can go see Ms. Sophie months after our last session." -C.B.
★★★★★ "Sophie was a gem for our family. The model of child counseling paired with parent coaching was excellent for us. Sophie is kind and approachable. She is an expert at what she does. We are in a happier, healthier, more regulated state of mind thanks to her. Equally important, Sophie helped teach us the tools to sustain it ourselves." -K.K.
★★★★★ "Our 4-year-old was having trouble working through his really big feelings, and my husband and I felt confused about how to help him. Our therapist helped us identify his challenges and how we could support him. Our son has gained self-confidence and we have gained clarity and confidence as parents. So grateful!" -J.S.
★★★★★ “The Rooted Rhythm approach incorporates trust, acceptance, curiosity, and compassion. It is a safe space for you to explore, embrace and apply these to your own perspective on life and its challenges- all with their guidance and wisdom. Parenting is a vulnerable journey. Growing up can be hard. Without a doubt, I recommend using Rooted Rhythm therapists for support!” - J.C.
FAQs about child therapy in Atlanta
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Both child psychologists and child therapists can provide invaluable support to children and families. However, there are some slight differences to be aware of when choosing who you want to work with.
A child therapist has a master's degree (usually in marriage and family therapy, social work, or another related field) and thousands of hours of supervised practice before gaining licensure. A child psychologist has similar training, though they have a doctorate degree in psychology.
Sometimes, child psychologists focus more on research or psychological testing. If you're seeking testing for autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, or developmental disabilities, you may want to consider seeing a child psychologist. Otherwise, it's important to make sure that a therapist or psychologist's treatment approach and specialties align with your child's specific needs.
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Yes! We've seen it firsthand with the hundreds of families we've helped. Traditional talk therapy often isn't the best fit for young children (or even older children). Play is a more natural language for little ones, and using play as a tool can help them express themselves most clearly and authentically.
Children may feel more pressured or overwhelmed when we ask them to use their words. While this is an earnest attempt to understand how they feel, play therapy offers more creative solutions to truly attune to our kiddo's emotions in a way that's more accessible to them.
You can learn more about play therapy on the Association for Play Therapy website or by scheduling a free consultation with our therapists to understand how we can use a broad range of play therapy techniques to help your child.
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There are many ways to find a play therapist in your area. The Association for Play Therapy has a directory where you can find credentialed play therapists near you. You can also use other therapist directories, search engines like Google, or even ask for a referral from your primary care provider or other trusted source.
We offer in-person play therapy services at our office in Dallas, TX. We also offer play therapy in Denver for families located in Colorado.
Working with a child therapist in Atlanta can give your family the support you've been looking for.
Our private practice specializes in supporting highly sensitive and gifted children. We help kiddos get in tune with their feelings and learn skills to self-regulate. At the same time, we support parents dealing with their own emotional challenges and help them feel empowered to show up differently. Our holistic approach ensures that the whole family can feel supported and connected.