Individual Counseling

Kids, like adults, can benefit from counseling. It helps kids develop problem-solving skills and teaches them the value of seeking help. Therapists can help kids and families cope with stress and a variety of emotional and behavioral issues. Many kids need help dealing with school stress, such as homework, test anxiety, bullying, or peer pressure. Others need help to discuss their feelings about family issues, particularly if there is a major transition, such as a divorce, move, or serious illness. Individual counseling is offered to help kids solve problems and enhance their personal growth and development. Counseling often involves talking about and expressing intense and possibly painful emotions, facing and dealing with difficult situations in the present, or recalling difficult, frightening or challenging times in the past. Counseling may result in feeling better about oneself and others, strengthening coping skills, reaching or making progress on one's counseling goals, improving interpersonal relationships, solving problems, improving academic performance, determining a major/career direction, having a safe place to express emotions, or building on one's strengths. Individual counseling provides a safe and private forum for kids to discuss issues of a personal nature that cannot be adequately addressed in a group setting.

Therapeutic Counseling Services are available to children and youth referred by the County’s Dept. of Children and Family Services (CFS) and the Juvenile Probation Department. Services are provided through IVRS' Marriage and Family Therapy Training Program. In addition, IVRS works in a therapeutic environment providing treatment to parents referred by CFS and when possible, provides early intervention services. This is accomplished through parent training, teaching effective family communication, helping families with conflict resolution and problem solving, teaching families how to use positive reinforcement and modeling appropriate behavior for parents and children.