Child and Teen Solutions
Where Families Find Answers
Most of the families we work with come to us for help with emotion dysregulation, outbursts, inflexibility, parent-child conflict, anxiety, depression, school problems, learning issues, executive functioning concerns, and social challenges. You may be feeling at a loss as to how to help your child or teen feel better and succeed. Many families feel that the “usual” strategies don’t seem to work for their child. We are here to help you find answers about what might be going on, and to guide you with strategies that work.
Child and Teen Solutions is a team of providers dedicated to providing state-of-the-art evaluations and treatment. Located in beautiful Madison Park, Seattle, we offer both in-person and telehealth services.
We believe in the power of parents to support their child or teen’s mental health.
Evaluations
We take a holistic approach to assessing ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, and behavior challenges. Our evaluation services are unique in that they offer more depth than what you might find at other agencies. We put great care into finding answers that will help you to better understand your child or teen, and that can point the way to helpful interventions to help your child to thrive.
Treatment
We offer individual therapy, parent-child/family therapy, and parenting services. We utilize the creative delivery of evidence-based practices. Our treatment services cover a range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, the autism spectrum, school problems, and behavior challenges.
Parents are the most important influencers of their children.
When supported and guided by a skilled therapist, parents are usually in a much better position to help their child than they realize. Rather than feeling helpless, parents can consider learning skills that will better equip them with how to better intervene in their child or teen’s struggles. We have found that the most successful treatment outcomes can occur when both the child or teen and their parents are involved in the care.
This is NOT to say that parents are at fault when their children struggle. Kids who are grappling with mental health or behavior issues have complex needs. Nobody would expect parents to know on their own how to respond to extreme tantrums, self-harm, alarming expressions of despair, anxiety, or depression in a child or teen. Even the most tuned in parents can benefit from learning advanced skills around discipline, emotions, communication, boundaries, and navigating conflict.
Parents are their child’s key relationship.
Children come into this world with all kinds of strengths and vulnerabilities. We celebrate the unique qualities that make our children who they are, while also recognizing that some characteristics require extra support. Some children are wired to be anxiety sensitive. Some have developmental or neurodevelopmental issues. Some might be genetically prone to mood disorders or OCD. Some are highly active or impulsive. Regardless of your child’s vulnerabilities, a strong parent-child relationship can help to mitigate a potentially risky developmental trajectory.
For many families, a child’s challenges can take over family life. The family tries to survive by orbiting around the child’s needs. Parents often neglect their own needs out of being in constant survival mode. Over time, this persistent stress can undermine family relationships - the foundation that must be prioritized in order for anyone to thrive.
Most of the evidence-based strategies for child problems, including acting-out behavior and anxiety, are parent-focused.
This is especially good news, because many distressed children and teens refuse care. Or, they might accept care, but are not developmentally ready to make good use of the support. Parents can learn evidence-based strategies to help their child get unstuck from painful cycles of anxiety and avoidance. Parents can learn how to disentangle themselves from conflict escalations. Parents can also learn how to build their child’s emotion regulation, and how to respond to anger outbursts or rebellious behavior. All of this is possible even without the child or teen being seen on a regular basis.