Children don't always explain distress the way adults do.
Instead of saying: "I'm anxious." "I'm overwhelmed." "I'm struggling with the changes happening in our family," a child may become irritable, withdrawn, tearful, worried, argumentative, clingy, or unusually sensitive.
They may struggle at school. Have difficulty sleeping. Complain of stomach aches or headaches. Or simply say: "I don't know."
Théla provides psychotherapy for children ages 8–11 who are developmentally able to participate in talk-based and age-adapted psychotherapy, with Bonny.
When Might a Child Benefit From Therapy?
Therapy may be helpful when a child is experiencing:
- Anxiety and worry
- Strong emotions
- Difficulty regulating frustration or anger
- Family separation or divorce
- Changes between two homes
- Family conflict
- Friendship difficulties
- School stress
- Self-esteem concerns
- Grief and loss
- Major family changes
- Neurodivergence
- Difficulty expressing feelings
- Relationship changes
- Adjustment difficulties
- Stress related to expectations at home or school
Sometimes the goal is not to "fix" a behaviour. It's to understand what the behaviour may be communicating.
How Is Child Therapy Different From Adult Therapy?
An eight-year-old and an adult shouldn't be expected to participate in therapy in the same way.
Sessions are adapted to the child's developmental level, attention, communication style, and ability to reflect on emotions and experiences.
Therapy may use age-appropriate conversation, visual tools, emotion-identification activities, drawing or writing, metaphors, stories, scaling exercises, body-awareness and grounding activities, and structured therapeutic exercises.
The goal is to make psychological concepts understandable and accessible to the child.
Is This Play Therapy?
Théla's child therapy service is not a specialized play-therapy service.
Our work with children ages 8–11 is better suited to children who can engage in developmentally adapted conversation, reflection, structured therapeutic activities, and skills work.
If a child would benefit primarily from specialized play therapy or another form of child-specific intervention, we may recommend a provider whose training and service are better suited to those needs.
Finding the right type of therapy matters more than trying to make every child fit the same service.
Children Experiencing Separation or Divorce
When parents separate, children can experience complicated emotions even when they understand what is happening.
A child may want their parents to reunite, feel caught between households, worry about upsetting one parent, feel responsible for keeping the peace, struggle with different rules between homes, avoid talking about one parent around the other, or feel pressure to choose sides.
Therapy can give children a neutral space to explore their experiences without making them responsible for adult decisions or relationships.
Parents Are Part of the Process
Child therapy doesn't happen in isolation from the child's environment. Parents and caregivers can be important partners in treatment.
Depending on the concern, therapy may include:
- Parent consultations
- Developmentally appropriate treatment planning
- Psychoeducation
- Strategies for responding to emotional dysregulation
- Support with communication
- Family sessions
- Discussion of changes at home
- Coordination around treatment goals when appropriate
At the same time, children need enough privacy to develop trust with their therapist. Your therapist will explain how parental involvement, confidentiality, consent, and safety communication will work.
When Family Therapy Might Be More Helpful
Sometimes the child isn't the only person who needs to be in the room.
If the primary concern involves recurring parent-child conflict, communication between family members, changes affecting the entire family, difficulty navigating separation or blended-family dynamics, family roles, or patterns that involve several people, family therapy may be more appropriate than asking the child to carry the responsibility for change alone.
Meet Your Child Therapist
Bonny, MA, EdD (Cand.): Emotions • Neurodivergence • Family Relationships • Life Changes
Bonny works with children ages 8–11 who can participate in developmentally adapted talk-based psychotherapy and structured therapeutic activities.
Her work may support children navigating anxiety, emotional regulation, neurodivergence, family changes, parental separation, relationship difficulties, self-esteem, and adjustment concerns.
When appropriate, Bonny can also work with parents or the broader family system rather than locating the entire problem within the child.
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO
In-person child therapy in Markham & virtual therapy across Ontario when developmentally and clinically appropriate. English • Cantonese • Mandarin
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Therapy
Théla's child therapy service is designed for children ages 8–11.
No. Théla does not currently provide specialized play therapy. Our work is best suited to children able to participate in age-adapted conversation and structured therapeutic activities.
Often, yes. The amount and form of parental involvement depend on the child's needs and treatment goals.
Yes. Therapy can provide a neutral space for children navigating separation, divorce, two households, changing family relationships, and the emotions associated with those changes.
Yes. Bonny provides in-person therapy in Markham.
A Child's Behaviour Often Tells Us Something
This is your sub-headline
Children don't always have adult language for what they're experiencing.
Therapy can help translate "something feels wrong" into "this is what I'm feeling, this is what I need, and this is what can help."
A Note on Immediate Support
This page describes general therapy services and is not a substitute for emergency or crisis support. If a child is in crisis or you have safety concerns, please contact 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline, Canada) or go to the nearest emergency room. Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868) is also available 24/7 for young people across Canada.
