Children’s Counselling
Helping Children Feel Safe, Seen, and Supported
At Thrive Therapy, we offer children’s counselling that meets kids (ages 3 - 13 years) where they are, through play, creativity, and connection. Children often don’t yet have the words to explain big feelings or challenging experiences. Play-based counselling provides a natural, developmentally appropriate way for children to express themselves, build emotional skills, and grow confidence.
Who We Support
Our child counselling services may be helpful for children (Ages 3 - 13 years) who are experiencing:
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Big emotions (worry, anxiety, sadness, anger, frequent overwhelm)
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Emotional or behavioural changes
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Children who have experienced developmental trauma
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History of abuse and/or neglect
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Disruptions to attachments with caregivers
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Low confidence or self-esteem
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Friendship or social challenges
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Family transitions (separation, loss, new sibling, move)
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Neurodiversity-related challenges (Autism, ADHD, sensory needs)
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Sleep, regulation, or separation struggles
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School-related stress or refusal
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Difficulty identifying or communicating feelings
No concern is “too small.” If your child is struggling, or you’re simply looking for extra support, we’re here to help.
At Thrive Therapy, we offer two complementary approaches to support children’s emotional and social wellbeing: Play-Based Therapy (3 - 9 years) and Children’s Counselling (ages 9 - 13 years).
Both approaches are child-centred and evidence-based, and your therapist will recommend the best fit based on your child’s age, needs, and communication style.
Some children benefit most from learning through play, while others are ready for more structured conversations and reflection — and many benefit from a blend of both.
Our therapists adapt each session to meet your child’s developmental stage, comfort level, and goals.
How We Support Children
We meet children where they are.
Sessions are tailored to each child’s developmental stage and may include:
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Child Centred
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Play-based counselling
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Emotion coaching
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Storytelling and creative expression
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Mindfulness and calming tools
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Social-emotional skill building
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Parent coaching and support
Our approach is strength-based and child-led, meaning the relationship and connection come first. We focus on helping children feel safe, seen, and understood.
Parents and caregivers play an important role in a child’s emotional health. With your permission, we work closely with families to:
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Understand what your child is experiencing
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Share strategies to support them at home and school
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Build routines that support emotional regulation
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Strengthen connection and communication
Supporting Children (ages 3 - 9) through Play-Based Counselling
Play-based counselling uses toys, games, art, movement, and storytelling as tools for communication and healing. Through play, children can:
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Express thoughts and emotions safely
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Process experiences at their own pace
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Develop emotional regulation skills
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Become more responsible for behaviours and develop more successful strategies.
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Strengthen problem-solving and social skills
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Build self-esteem and resilience
Play is a child’s natural language—and therapy works best when it speaks that language.
We use play-based, developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed approaches to help children make sense of their world and learn healthy ways to cope with big emotions and daily challenges.
Interested in Play-Based Therapy for Your Child?
What to Expect:
Sessions are thoughtfully designed to support emotional growth, confidence, and connection through meaningful, child-led activities. Sessions may include:
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Therapeutic Play & Imaginative Activities: Using toys, role-play, pretend play, and games to help children express thoughts and feelings in ways that feel safe and natural.
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Creative Expression Through Art & Sensory Play: Drawing, painting, building, and sensory materials that support emotional expression, regulation, and engagement.
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Social & Emotional Skill Development: Play-based activities that gently teach sharing, turn-taking, problem-solving, and understanding emotions in self and others.
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Emotional Regulation & Calming Strategies: Playful breathing exercises, movement, stories, and routines that help children recognize and manage big feelings.
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Attachment-Focused & Relationship Building: Activities that strengthen trust, safety, and confidence within the therapeutic relationship.
Play-based therapy is typically most effective when children attend weekly sessions for a minimum of 3–6 months (approximately 10–20 sessions). In addition, parent-therapist meetings ( without the child present) are highly recommend to be booked every 4–5 sessions. The most successful therapy occurs when the therapist and parent work collaboratively to support the child’s therapeutic progress. The frequency and duration of therapy may vary based on the child’s and family’s specific needs.
Supporting Pre-Teens (ages 9 – 13) through Creative & Therapeutic Approaches
At Thrive Therapy, we understand that older children (ages 9 – 13 years) are starting to think more deeply, solve problems in new ways, and express themselves in more complex forms. Counselling for older children and youth. This type of counselling is for older children who are developmentally suited to more talk-based counselling. This approach combines talk- therapy with creative art therapy Interventions, engaging clients with a variety of creative materials to help them externalize challenging aspects of life and self that they may struggle to articulate verbally. This approach is client centered and supports children and youth through self-expression, emotion regulation, coping skills, healthy communication and processing challenging life experiences. No art experience is necessary to benefit!
While play and creativity remain important, through counselling this age group also benefits from additional therapeutic tools that help them better understand their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. These tools are designed to:
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Build Insight: Support children in developing self-awareness and understanding how their emotions, behaviours, and experiences are connected.
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Strengthen Coping Skills: Teach practical, age-appropriate strategies for managing stress, anxiety, frustration, and social challenges both at school and at home.
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Enhance Emotional Resilience: Foster confidence, emotional regulation, and problem-solving skills that help children navigate everyday challenges and transitions.
All of this takes place within a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment that feels comfortable, engaging, and responsive to each child’s unique needs.
Our approach for pre-teens blends familiar creative expression with developmentally grounded therapy techniques designed to help youth understand their emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in real-world contexts.
Interested in Counselling Therapy for Your 9-13 year old?
What to Expect:
We continue to meet children where they are, but sessions may also include:
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Creative Expression with Purpose: Drawing, storytelling, journaling, or metaphor-based activities that help children explore thoughts and feelings that can be difficult to put into words.
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Thought-Feeling-Behaviour Skills: Simple strategies that help older children understand how thoughts can influence emotions and actions — useful for managing stress, school worries, friendships, and daily challenges.
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Emotion Regulation & Coping Tools: Guided practice with age-appropriate calming strategies, reflection exercises, and self-awareness activities that support confidence and self-control.
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Collaborative Goal-Setting: Working together with your therapist to identify goals that matter to your child — whether that’s building resilience, reducing worry, expressing feelings more clearly, or strengthening social skills.
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Sessions feel warm, inviting, and supportive — not forced or overly clinical.
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Creative and expressive tools are used alongside structured skill-building, so therapy stays meaningful for older children.
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Parents are kept informed and supported, with strategies they can gently reinforce at home and school.
Interested in Booking?
Parents are required to complete an intake form and book a 30–50-minute intake session (either virtual or in-person) without their child present. This session provides an opportunity to discuss the child’s current presenting challenges, allowing both the parent and therapist space to ask questions and clarify information shared in the intake form about the child's daily cognitive, social and emotional functioning, as well as share details of any family dynamics that may be pertinent for the therapist to know to best support the therapeutic process.
In this intake session therapist will prepare the parent for the child’s first therapy session, as well as discuss and agree upon treatment goals and therapeutic objectives.
Our services are available at our Halifax clinic, and through virtual sessions, ensuring accessibility for all individuals (children, youth and adults).
Book a Free Consult
Book a free consultation today to discuss your child's needs, goals, and to find the right therapy approach to support you or your families well-being!
If you’re unsure if counselling is the right fit for your child, thats okay! We offer free consultations with our therapists to talk with you about your concerns and help you decide whether counselling, occupational therapy, or a combination of supports may be helpful.