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Treatment > Our Treatment Services

Our Treatment Services for Children and Adolescents

Children and adolescents who are having emotional, behavioral, social or academic difficulties may get help from mental health treatment. Therapists treating children will meet with them individually and also work closely with parents to make changes in the youngsters’ lives. Therapists treating adolescents will see them individually and may have contact with their parents, depending on the nature of the problem.

When Does a Child or Adolescent Need Mental Health Treatment?

Mental health treatment for young people may be considered if the young person:

Feels very sad or depressed over a period of time
Has thoughts of hurting self or others
Has had recent changes in sleeping patterns for no obvious reasons
Has had recent changes in eating patterns for no obvious reasons
Worries or is fearful in ways that interfere with daily life
Has difficulty managing angry, aggressive feelings
Seems uninterested in activities enjoyed in the past
Has difficulty paying attention or concentrating
Has not reached certain age-appropriate developmental milestones and a physical cause has been ruled out
Has had difficulty coping with a recent major life change (such as divorce in the family, birth of a sibling)
Has experienced a recent or ongoing stressful event
Has been emotionally, physically or sexually abused
Has experienced a death in the family or their social circle
Requests therapy to deal with problems or stress
Has a recommendation from school for therapy
Has a recommendation from the pediatrician for therapy

If you think your child or adolescent has any symptoms as a result of medication or a medical condition, please be sure to discuss it with their pediatrician.

Not every young person who goes through difficult times will need therapy. If you have questions about whether you, your child or your adolescent could benefit from therapy, please call our Northern Westchester Counseling Center at 914-666-4646, our Sterling Clinic at 914-345-5900, our Information and Referral Service at 914-345-5900, extension 240 or send us e-mail at help@mhawestchester.org.

We will arrange for an experienced therapist to speak with you about the symptoms and offer to meet with the parent or guardian and young person for an evaluation, if you wish.

What We Deliver

Our clinics are licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Health and provide individual, family and group therapy services for children and adolescents. Medication therapy is also provided, as needed. Specialized treatment is available for youngsters with depression, anxiety, attentional or behavioral difficulties, for those who have been physically or sexually abused, for those coping with a serious illness or death in the family, and for those with more serious emotional and behavioral problems.

Individual Psychotherapy for Children - Play Therapy
Younger children may benefit from one-to-one contact with a therapist who uses play therapy techniques. Since young children do not have the same ability to verbally communicate as older children or adolescents, a therapist helps a child express and understand experiences, thoughts and feelings by using toys, games, dolls and dollhouses, puppets, crayons and paper.

Through this process, children begin to have mastery over their feelings and are better able to communicate their needs with the important people in their lives. They learn refined ways of understanding their feelings and experiences. Sessions with young children generally last from 30-45 minutes.

In addition to the child’s individual contact with the therapist, therapists typically meet with the child’s parents or guardian weekly, biweekly or monthly. These meetings allow the therapist and parents an opportunity to exchange important information about the child’s behavior at home and in session, to plan management strategies and to find ways for parents to support the child’s emotional and behavioral changes.

Individual Psychotherapy For Older Children and Adolescents
Older children and adolescents who participate in individual therapy are taught to use their verbal skills to help in identifying and labeling feelings and behaviors, discuss family and peer relationships and to learn ways to change problem behaviors and cope with the stress in their lives.

Sessions with older children and adolescents generally last from 30-45 minutes.

In addition to the child or adolescent’s individual time with the therapist, it is not uncommon for the therapist to also meet with parents, either alone or with the young person present. Such meetings generally occur less frequently than those in the treatment of a younger child. These meetings allow the therapist, parents and child or adolescent (when present) to discuss the young person’s progress at home and at school, to identify continuing difficulties and ways parents can help to address them and to strengthen communication skills between parents and their children. In some situations, therapists do not meet with parents of adolescents.

Medication Therapy For Children and Adolescents

A child or adolescent and their parents meet with a psychiatrist to evaluate whether medication may be helpful in addressing emotional and behavioral difficulties. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor specially trained to work with psychological and behavioral difficulties.

For more information on medication therapy, please see What To Expect From Mental Health Treatment.

Group Treatment For Children and Adolescents
Sometimes children and adolescents have therapy in a group with other young people who share experiences. Groups can help children and adolescents learn to cope with difficulties and change feelings and behaviors by working with a therapist and interacting with their peers who face similar struggles. For example, group therapy is a good way to help children and adolescents with difficulties to learn and practice social skills.

We offer the following groups for children and adolescents based upon community interest and/or demand:

Family Treatment For Children and Adolescents
Family treatment looks at problems and solutions from a family point of view. In this treatment group a therapist meets with family members together to explore and practice how family members can learn to identify and meet each other’s needs and improve the way the family works.

Other Groups
If there is a group in which you are interested but which is not offered now, please call our Information and Referral Service at 914-345-5900, extension 240 or e-mail us at help@mhawestchester.org to see if such a group is being formed.

Where

All Child and Adolescent treatment services are offered at three sites:

Northern Westchester Counseling Center
344 Main Street, Suite 301
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
914-666-4646

Click here for How Can I Get Here?

Sterling Center
2269 Saw Mill River Road, Building 1A
Elmsford, NY 10523
914-345-5900

Click here for How Can I Get Here?

Sterling Clinic
29 Sterling Avenue
White Plains, NY 10606
914-345-5900

Click here for How Can I Get Here?

We also offer home-based psychotherapy for children and adolescents through the PIP (Partners in Parenting) program. To discuss your eligibility for a therapist to come to your home, please call Program Coordinator Patrice Monaghan at 914-666-4646, extension 120.

When

Our clinics are open Monday through Friday, beginning at 9:00 AM. There are evening hours every weekday except Friday. Please call the clinic most convenient to you for their evening hours.

Partners in Parenting (PIP) services are available through both community-based and shelter-based programs. Each provides services Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. For more information on home-based or shelter-based programs, please see Partners in Parenting, Services for the Homeless or call 914-666-4646, extension 120.

All our treatment programs provide emergency coverage using a beeper system for weeknights and weekends. The clinics’ staff members are available to help with crises even when the clinics are closed.

Languages Spoken

Please contact individual sites for availability of a particular service in Spanish.

Cost

We accept many health insurance plans, including Child Health Plus, Medicaid and Medicare. For people without insurance, we have a sliding fee scale. For more information about cost, please see How Much Does Mental Health Treatment Cost, and Does My Health Insurance Cover This Expense?

No one is denied treatment services at our clinics because he or she is unable to pay standard fees.

Staff/Service Providers

Clinic staff who work with children and adolescents in our clinics and home-based treatment settings are master's level licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), doctoral level psychologists (PhDs, PsyDs), or medical doctors (MDs) who are trained as psychiatrists and have experience treating children and adolescents.

Our clinics have internships for advanced graduate students training to be child and adolescent therapists. These students are supervised by senior clinic staff members. Some people coming to the clinic work with these students. A person may choose not to work with a student if they prefer.

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