At Polaris, we understand the problems and challenges that children and teens face as they progress through different phases of their lives. We also understand your concern as parents. The goal of our counselors is to work with you and your child toward a better understanding and resolution of their problem. Whether you are concerned about your child coping with a divorce or re-marriage, anxiety, substance abuse, depression, sexual abuse, family issues, school problems, self-esteem issues, acting out, or another issue, we are here to help.
Some of our specific areas of focus with child and adolescent therapy are:
- ADD/ADHD
- Behavioral Problems
- Low Self-esteem
If you are interested in learning more about a more specific issue affecting your child please continue below to more tailored information to help you make a sound decision.
Child Counseling
Raising a child can be challenging! As parents, we experience a broad range of emotions when parenting our children - these can be anything from elation, pride and joy to anger, frustration and outright bafflement. Parenting is like being on a roller-coaster, there are plenty of highs and lows and no way of getting off until the end! As parents, we all understand and accept that with patience, good discipline and consistency, those difficult moments or phases will pass and will serve as an important learning opportunity for our children moving forward. Sometimes, however, those phases seem to have no end, and our children get stuck in a pattern of destructive behaviors, poor academic performance or low self-esteem. That’s where we come in.
Teen Counseling
Let’s face it – raising a teenager can be tough! As parents, after hours of fighting, being disrespected and dealing with issues ranging from poor grades to stealing alcohol or skipping school, we are often left wondering what happened to our once happy-go-lucky, energetic and polite child. For the most part, teens are just trying to exercise some independence and autonomy, which is a healthy part of adolescent development. As parents we need to ride the storm, be effective disciplinarians and help guide our teen in the right direction. However, sometimes the issues can be more severe and long-lasting. These more serious issues can have a profound negative impact your teenager’s life and ongoing development. That’s where we come in.
Behavioral Problems
We understand the difficulties that come with raising children today, as well as the individuality of each child and family. At Polaris, we are here to help you learn how to manage and work through your child or teens’ behavioral problems. Behavioral problems can range from temper tantrums and acting out, to drug and alcohol use/abuse, to truancy or promiscuity.
ADD/ADHD
Being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be a difficult time for children and their families. Having ADD/ADHD can contribute to problems at school, interacting with others, and low self-esteem. At Polaris, we work with you and your child to help them through the process of adjusting to their diagnosis.
Self-Esteem
In today’s world of peer pressure and underweight models, low self-esteem is becoming an increasingly bigger problem in children and adolescents.