Counselling is a form of therapy offered to families, children, youth and adults to assist with understanding the root causes of the struggles they are facing and to address them in a manageable way. These struggles can be emotional, social, psychological or physical. Situations are broken down to help children and adults understand the core reasons behind these concerns and to start addressing them by providing coping strategies. Counsellors are experts in identifying these concerns that may go unnoticed by others and assist with providing the appropriate strategies to address these issues to enhance the wellbeing of the individual and live a more balanced life.

Children and adolescents who show distress, anxiety (e.g., worry, social, fear of the dark), phobias or fears, sadness, insomnia, bedwetting, socioemotional and behavioural difficulties (e.g., socializing, opposition, and aggression), truancy or disinterest in attending school, and attentional problems may find seeing a counsellor helpful.

Various interventions and modalities are used during a counselling session to address the needs of the family or individual. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the primary approach used to address concerns. Cognitive behavioural therapy looks at the connection between a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours and how they all are intertwined and affect one another. The way one thinks, will affect how they feel, and inevitably how they behave. Their behavioiur will also contribute or reinforce how they think and feel. All three factors (thoughts, feelings and behaviours) are connected and have an impact on each other. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy works on breaking distorted patterns in thinking that inevitable affect emotions and impact unwanted behaviour. This approach is often combined with other engaging interventions and modalities to assist with meeting the family, child, youth or adult’s goals.