Child Therapist recs

[Wiler77 1567]

Putting this here rather than the Help board because I think it'll get more eyes.

I'm looking for child therapist recs in Austin to help my 8 year old son.  He has some anger and self-esteem issues we believe he needs professional help for.

[destroya 380]

I have a couple of friends who took their kids to see Karen Hilton during their divorces. They both had good things to say about her. 

[BabaYaga 15305]

My mom is a retired LPC in Austin.  I'll see if she has any recommendations.  Good speed and best of luck.  Keep us posted, seriously.  

[RollLeft 5045]

[Neonmoon 38130]

Send you a PM with some recs 

also I was told to add by my therapist wife, not that this is the case but could be if there is issues at school but not at home. 

Sometimes kids with learning disabilities have trouble in school and do not know how to vocalize it, and they get angry and act out at school because of it. 

Edited October 4, 2019 by Neonmoon

[Wiler77 1567]

26 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

also I was told to add by my therapist wife, not that this is the case but could be if there is issues at school but not at home. 

Sometimes kids with learning disabilities have trouble in school and do not know how to vocalize it, and they get angry and act out at school because of it. 

His only problem at school is he's a shit-tastic speller.  He's really quite smart.  He's goes to math class with the grade above him, and he's reading a grade level ahead.  He doesn't have any anger or self-esteem issues at school, at least none that he shows and he wears his emotions on his sleeve.  In fact, the teacher talks about what a good leader he is because he helps other kids who are struggling at things and is inclusive of all the kids in the class.

We have probed the whole "is he getting bullied" angle, but we're confident that's not happening.  And he's a mid-level TaeKwonDo belt and I've explained that he has the green light to use his skills if he, his brothers, or his friends are getting picked on.

The real problem is he takes any failure, and i mean any (from not playing well in sports to the slightest reprimand at home) as a personal insult that he is no good.  He told me yesterday he thinks he's a bad kid because he gets in trouble so much.  He doesn't get in trouble much, but when he does it hurts him so deeply and profoundly.  And sometimes he'll flip the fuck out at the slightest bit of punishment, like yesterday.  Not like "Chill out and stop being a brat".  More like "holy shit who is this kid he's not making any sense".

We've talked to him countless times about how great he is, we show him every day, we spend time with him, etc, etc.  He has a good home life and lots of friends.  My wife and I have talked for a while about how worried we are about his mental trajectory, and the incident yesterday made it clear we need professional help.

Sorry for the novel.  I appreciate the suggestions

[Not that Bob 739]

I know I will catch shit for this, but...my grandson had similar issues. Smart kid, lovable 99% of the time, but when frustrated about sports/school/whatever he had what we called "melt downs". Total over reaction to the situation. He had a tendency  to to get very absorbed in whatever he was doing and wouldn't take time out to eat. "Forcing" him to have a snack helped, but not completely. It was getting to the point that other kids would set him up just for the "fun" of watching him explode.    We all, his parents/grandparents/etc. hated and delayed putting him on Ritalin, but once it was tried as a "last resort" it has made all the difference in the world. We are still very cautious about doses and giving him medication holidays, but the improvement in  his life simply can't be denied. I was very resistant and skeptical, but the results are obvious. Start with calories, and therapy is a good idea, but also consider the stimulant medications.  

[Neonmoon 38130]

She said go to a therapist but yes sounds like low self esteem. Probably needs a creative outlet to grow and learn. (I’m paraphrasing),  but go talk to a therapist. He will be fine. 

 

[Felix 607]

20 minutes ago, Wiler77 said:

His only problem at school is he's a shit-tastic speller.  He's really quite smart.  He's goes to math class with the grade above him, and he's reading a grade level ahead.  He doesn't have any anger or self-esteem issues at school, at least none that he shows and he wears his emotions on his sleeve.  In fact, the teacher talks about what a good leader he is because he helps other kids who are struggling at things and is inclusive of all the kids in the class.

We have probed the whole "is he getting bullied" angle, but we're confident that's not happening.  And he's a mid-level TaeKwonDo belt and I've explained that he has the green light to use his skills if he, his brothers, or his friends are getting picked on.

The real problem is he takes any failure, and i mean any (from not playing well in sports to the slightest reprimand at home) as a personal insult that he is no good.  He told me yesterday he thinks he's a bad kid because he gets in trouble so much.  He doesn't get in trouble much, but when he does it hurts him so deeply and profoundly.  And sometimes he'll flip the fuck out at the slightest bit of punishment, like yesterday.  Not like "Chill out and stop being a brat".  More like "holy shit who is this kid he's not making any sense".

We've talked to him countless times about how great he is, we show him every day, we spend time with him, etc, etc.  He has a good home life and lots of friends.  My wife and I have talked for a while about how worried we are about his mental trajectory, and the incident yesterday made it clear we need professional help.

Sorry for the novel.  I appreciate the suggestions

My middle daughter was a lot like this.  Very smart, but hyper sensitive to the slightest criticism, especially from me.  She still doesn't like to be told she's in the wrong but as she's gotten older it's become much more of a strength.  She works hard to do the right thing and it drives her to excel, but doesn't bring her down any more.  Getting help never hurts, but I think you'll find that as he matures and learns more about himself he'll naturally get better.

 

We did, in fact, have her talk to a counselor a few times and she basically told us not to change anything, that she would be fine as she became more comfortable with who she was as a person.  Good luck!

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

My daughter seemed to have similar issues, maybe not as bad as yours, and at a slightly younger age. She seems to have grown out of it or gotten past it or something. Not entirely, but definitely getting better and better as she gets older.

Other than that little bit of encouragement, I got nothing. Good luck OP.

[Cajun 11722]

Here's my rec.  I won't go into my daughter's issues, but I will say that over the course of over a decade I've dealt with nearly a dozen child therapists and no one even comes close...

https://www.southaustincounselingservices.com/about-tammie-d-martin

I've known her about 10 years now.  Meet her and you won't look anywhere else.

Best of luck.

 

[Your Mom 4841]

My son has seen a couple of different counselors over the past few years.  The best advice we got from several professionals in that field was to ignore the letters after their name on their certificates and degrees and just find someone your kid is comfortable talking to and opening up to.  For my kid that person ended up being Brian Kennedy in South Austin, near 71/Manchaca/Lamar.  

https://www.psychotherapyofaustin.com/about

[BigHorn'13 3386]

12 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Sometimes kids with learning disabilities have trouble in school and do not know how to vocalize it, and they get angry and act out at school because of it. 

It's because of this and the fact that your son is 8 that I would look into play therapy. It might sound quacky but he's still at an age where he either can't fully articulate what's going on inside, perhaps not consciously knowing, or both. It's held in a setting that's non intimidating, and most kids don't see it as therapy. That's important because in going down this road, you need to be very mindful of how he perceives his issues and any treatment. 

Getting testing done by a neuro psychologist wouldn't hurt, either. If something neurological is going on, they'll diagnose it and give you guidance as well as the school. 

[Cajun 11722]

Play therapy is no joke.  

It works if the circumstances are right.