Do We Really Need Therapy?

Not every concern requires therapy, however therapy can serve many purposes beyond treating a problem. It can prevent, stabilize, restore, support, and strengthen. But thoughtful therapy also means recognizing when a child may need something other than mental health counseling—or may not need therapy right now. This post explores the many reasons children and families seek therapy. It also explores when one parent thinks their child Neds therapy and the other parent doesn’t.

Therapy can be preventative: addressing concerns before they become bigger ones.

Therapy can be triage: helping stabilize things when life gets hard.

Therapy can be maintenance: supporting continued growth and regulation when things are going well.

Therapy can be restorative: processing experiences that have you feeling struck, overwhelmed, or disconnected.

Therapy can be skill-building: developing tools for navigating emotions, relationships, transitions, or challenges.

Therapy can be relational: strengthening connection, communication, and felt safety.

Therapy can be developmental: helping you navigate a developmental stage, transition, or new demand.

Therapy can be consultative: sometimes the parent needs guidance more than the child needs ongoing therapy.

Therapy can be periodic: sometimes you come in, work through something, and come back later if needed.

Therapy sometimes may not be the right thing for right now.

When one parent thinks their child needs therapy, and the other parent doesn’t—it is not about who is right. In reality, this occurs and we encourage parents to approach it with curiosity for both perspectives. One parent may experience their child’s anxiety, meltdowns, withdrawals, big reactions, or changes at home/school. The other parent may view their child as being “fine,” think that they’ll grow out of these things, or relate to behaviors and say “I was just like that as a kid, and I turned out fine.”

Therapy doesn’t have to mean something is wrong with your child. We understand that parents may feel hesitant, vulnerable, or exposed just thinking about entering the therapeutic process. A parent may have had a negative experience themself. Or perhaps their culture values working through struggles in other ways.

From our perspective, child therapy can mean:

“Let’s better understand what’s underneath the behaviors.”

“Let’s give children a space to communicate what they may not have words for.”

“Let’s build skills before thing become bigger.”

“let’s gain a new perspective.”

Here are a few things parents can consider before committing to therapy:

1. Here at Playroom Lubbock, we aren’t looking for something to fix, label, or diagnose.

2. Your child’s therapy is confidential.

3. You will not be left in the dark.

4. You can ask questions.

5. You are not signing up forever. (We want your input on duration)

6. There is no pressure to continue indefinitely.

7. You don’t have to agree with everything your therapist says.

8. Seeking support does not mean you’ve failed as a parent.

9. We communicate with both parents who have rights to their children.