Child Therapy & Psychiatry Services in Illinois

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy, and that is especially true for children. That’s why we offer several types of therapy for children and teens. Families may use one or more types of pediatric therapy in a care plan, and they may use therapy alongside medication.

LifeStance offers many types of pediatric therapy, including:

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

• Pediatric Psychology

• Play Therapy

In some types of pediatric therapy, parents play an active role in the sessions. For other types of care, therapists work one-on-one with the child and keep parents up to date as they go.

Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) is an evidence-based parent-training designed to help children aged 3 to 8 who are experiencing a wide range of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. This training teaches parents how to use play therapeutically so that the communication between parent and child is improved and their relationship is enhanced.

When children experience a play relationship in which they feel accepted, understood, and cared for, they play out many of their problems and, in the process, release tension and anxiety. When children feel better about themselves, they tend to behave in more self-enhancing, and less self-defeating ways.

Play therapy is a form of treatment that can help children who are experiencing social, emotional, behavioral, and relationship disorders to express their emotions, improve their communication abilities, and learn to solve problems.

This kind of therapy honors a child’s unique developmental level and looks for ways of helping by observing and interacting with how they play, which is the natural expressive “language” of children. Play therapy is most often used for children ages 4-12, though it can also be used in varying forms with teenagers and adults, as well as with children and their parents or caretakers.

Play therapy is recognized as an evidence-based practice by professional organizations for anxiety, disruptive behaviors, and victims of abuse. Research shows that play therapy can be effective in treating a variety of mental health and behavior issues. Play therapy research dates back over 100 years, with more rigorous study in the last few decades. Across issues that have been studied, play therapy consistently demonstrates positive effects with few exceptions.

Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) was originally used to help children and adolescents who had experienced sexual abuse. Now, this approach is being applied to children, adolescents, and adults who experienced any form of trauma or abuse as a child.

TIC recognizes and responds to the signs, symptoms, and risks of trauma to support the health needs of people who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Adopting trauma-informed practices can improve engagement, treatment adherence, and health outcomes.

Unlike traditional therapy, trauma-informed treatment integrates an awareness of trauma into every aspect of therapy while prioritizing the individual’s safety. A trauma-informed approach to care acknowledges that healthcare providers need to have a complete picture of the individual’s life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective healthcare services. This type of treatment brings awareness of trauma by creating a safe space to navigate the individual’s mental health journey.

Medication management can be an essential part of psychiatric care for children and adolescents, as identifying proper prescriptions and dosage schedules are a key part of successful psychiatric treatment.

Some mental health disorders are best treated by therapy, while others are best treated through both therapy and medication. More often than not, the most successful interventions combine the two. For example, a child receiving exposure therapy for OCD may need medication to ameliorate their symptoms as they practice techniques learned in therapy.

In some cases, medication is the core treatment and therapy is the secondary intervention. Those with a chemical imbalance, for example, may need medication to stabilize the mind and then therapy for healing.

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), many treatment options are available. Please remember that only certain medical professionals can prescribe medication and perform thorough physical evaluations to rule out other possible causes of symptoms of ADHD. These professionals are physicians (M.D. or D.O.), nurse practitioners, and physician assistants (P.A.) under physician supervision.

You want to choose a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in treating patients with ADHD because they will be the most up-to-date on research and treatments for ADHD.

Psychologists treat ADHD with different types of behavioral therapies, but they cannot prescribe medications.

Psychiatric clinicians treat ADHD with behavioral therapies too but can also prescribe specific ADHD medications as part of your child’s overall treatment

Autism is most often tested in children but can also be diagnosed in teens and adults. Diagnosing someone with autism as early as possible allows them to get the services and support they need to reach their full potential.

Diagnosing autism or autism spectrum disorder can be challenging because the cluster of symptoms can be quite confusing to non-clinicians. Because of this, doctors must look at the child’s developmental history and behavior in order to make an autism diagnosis. Psychiatric clinicians may also recommend psychological testing as part of the evaluation process for autism.

To figure out if a child has autism, they are observed and evaluated on their development in several key areas:

• Language & Communication
• Social Awareness & Interaction
• Restricted Interests & Repetitive Behavior