Mental health therapy is a service that provides mental health care for individuals’ social and emotional needs. Mental health therapy considers the individual and their environment, including one’s home, school and community. Reasons one may seek mental health therapy might include a desire to develop and support self-awareness, social skills, relationship skills, expressing emotions, gaining coping tools, and decision-making. These services can be provided in the clinic at Eyas Landing and in school settings. Mental health therapy utilizes evidenced-based practices to support those experiencing mental health concerns such as anxiety, anger management, depression, and ADHD. Mental health therapy can support clients in identifying thought patterns that may impact their self-esteem, rigidity, interpersonal relationships, and overall day-to-day functioning.
At Eyas Landing, our mental health therapists consist of social workers and counselors, who work with families to create individualized goals to address their child’s specific needs. The therapists focus on addressing and managing emotional and behavioral challenges, improving social skills, fostering positive relationships, developing resiliency, increasing self-esteem, enhancing communication skills, navigating interpersonal relationships, and developing coping tools.
Our mental health therapists collaborate with a variety of associates including the client’s family, school-based providers, and other outside providers. This allows providers to ensure continuity of care across settings.
Together, the mental health therapy team seamlessly collaborates with each child’s entire therapeutic team to address best practices and individualized treatment plans. This collaboration between our highly-educated, compassionate staff maximize therapeutic outcomes and helps support our clients to reach their fullest potential. At Eyas Landing, we value evidence-based practice, client-centeredness, community, diversity, collaboration, and flexibility.
Mental Health Therapy at Eyas Landing
Mental health therapy focuses on supporting children and their families in a variety of areas and needs. Mental health therapy focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances (NASW, 2019).
At Eyas Landing, mental health therapy will focus on supporting children identify and understand their emotions and tackle barriers to success within the realms of their emotional and social experiences.
Mental health therapy has a primary focus on the mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being of the children and families Eyas Landing serves. It centers on a holistic approach to psychotherapy and the client’s relationship to their environment. Mental health therapy views the child’s relationship with their environment as essential to treatment planning and understanding (NASW, 2019).
Social workers and counselors perform services in a variety of settings including private practice, hospitals, community mental health, primary care, and agencies. Clinical social workers are mandated to practice under standards set by the National Association of Social Workers as well as a code of ethics.
Who benefits from Mental Health Therapy?
Children and families with a variety of needs and challenges can benefit from social work services. These challenges include discussing and identifying feelings, social interaction with others, providing therapeutic listening, engaging in creative play, engaging in age-appropriate group activities, etc. Counseling can be done on both one-to-one ratio, as well as group ratio, to facilitate appropriate social, communication, and leisure skills.
Children with the following symptoms or diagnoses may benefit from mental health services:
Children with the following symptoms or diagnoses may benefit from mental health services:
Mental Health Treatment
Mental health therapy will look different for each child depending on the child’s needs and the focus of services. The goal is to build coping skills and resilience for a child and family in effort to increase success for increased functioning.
Strategies used by social workers and counselors:
- Assessing the biological, psychological, and sociological factors in a child’s life to better understand their potential impact on treatment goals
- Identifying cognitive distortions and supporting children in reframing distorted cognitions
- Motivational interviewing to support child in reflecting on their identity and ability
- Support children in recognizing rational and irrational thoughts
- Modeling and guiding children in emotional validation and regulation
- Introducing mindfulness and grounding techniques to support
- Creating and exploring helpful coping skills
Eyas Landing utilizes the latest evidence-based practice to provide the best treatment for your child. A common modality in mental health therapy is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is psychotherapy that has been shown to be effective in over 2,000 research studies. It is structured, present-oriented psychotherapy that helps individuals identify goals that are most important to them and overcome obstacles that get in the way (Beck Institute, 2019). CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems.
Mental health treatment at Eyas Landing is a collaborative effort between the therapist(s), family, child, and other caregivers (e.g., teachers, grandparents, medical team, etc.). During the initial evaluation, a social worker or counselor will meet with the primary caregiver(s).
This initial evaluation will last 45 minutes and will aim to understand reasons for referral as well as gather history and review all relevant psychological and sociological information related to treatment. Following the evaluation, recommendations for continued treatment are made based on the results of the evaluation, and a plan of care is established by the therapist and family.
Goal of Mental Health Therapy
The goal for mental health services at Eyas Landing is to provide client-centered therapy to address the child’s individual objectives for treatment. Each social work session and treatment plan are catered to the child and family, coupled with the insight and support of the other disciplines at Eyas Landing that are dedicated to our client’s care, treatment, and success.
