San Diego · Telehealth across California · Ages 5 and up
Children's Therapy & Whole-Child Counseling
Helping Children Feel Safe, Understood, and Confident Again
When something is off with your child, you feel it before they can explain it. We look at the whole child, mind, body, and the world around them, to understand what the behavior is really telling us, and help your child feel calmer and more themselves at home, at school, and inside.
Children don't always say "I'm struggling." Sometimes they show us.
Anxiety can look like stomachaches. Overwhelm can look like anger. Sadness can look like pulling away. Fear can look like refusing to go to school. When you understand what may be happening beneath the behavior, it stops feeling like a battle and starts pointing you toward what your child actually needs.
When therapy can help
Signs your child may benefit from support
One or two of these on their own is usually just childhood. It is the pattern, and how much it is getting in the way, that suggests it may be time to reach out.
- Frequent worry or fearfulness
- School avoidance or refusal
- Stomachaches or headaches tied to stress
- Separation anxiety
- Meltdowns and big reactions
- Anger or a short fuse
- Withdrawal or sadness
- Sleep changes
- Trouble concentrating
- Low self-esteem or perfectionism
- Friendship difficulties or bullying
- Family changes or divorce
- Grief or loss
- After a frightening experience
- Sudden changes in mood or behavior
Our difference
We look beyond the behavior
Most child therapy looks at thoughts and feelings alone. We look wider, at the whole child, because a struggling child is rarely struggling in just one place.
Mind
Thoughts, worries, beliefs, self-esteem, and how your child understands their emotions.
Body
The nervous system, stress signals, sleep, and grounding. Sometimes what looks emotional has a physical layer too.
Relationships
Parents, siblings, friendships, and the attachments that help a child feel safe.
Environment
Home, school, routines, transitions, and the stressful experiences that shape a child.
This is where we stand apart. For a child whose anxiety, mood, or focus has not improved with talk therapy alone, we can also consider the physical side, sleep, stress, and more, through our whole-child and functional medicine care, and we coordinate with your pediatrician when a medical cause may be involved.
Child therapy services
Find support for what your child is facing
Parents usually come to us about a specific concern. Start with the one that fits, or reach out and we will help you find the right path.
Child Anxiety & School Refusal
For the worry, the morning stomachaches, the school dread, and the meltdowns that anxiety hides behind.
Learn more ›Childhood Trauma & Stress
Gentle, trauma-informed care that helps children feel safe again after a frightening or painful experience.
Learn more ›Grief & Loss
A safe, compassionate place for children to grieve a loved one or a pet, and learn to carry the loss.
Learn more ›Big Feelings & Emotional Regulation
For meltdowns, anger, and overwhelm. We teach children to name, feel, and manage big emotions.
Learn more ›Self-Esteem & Bullying
For the harsh inner voice, bullying, and friendship struggles. We help children find their confidence and voice.
Learn more ›Divorce & Family Changes
A neutral space for children adjusting to divorce, blended families, and big transitions.
Learn more ›Play-Based & Creative Therapy
Meeting children in their own language, play, art, and story, because they don't always have the words.
Learn more ›Parent Coaching & Support
Practical, no-blame support for you. Your child does not have to attend to start getting help.
Learn more ›Whole-Child & Functional Medicine
The body side of children's mental health, sleep, stress, and more, for kids who have plateaued on talk alone.
Learn more ›Military-Connected Families
Support that understands deployment, frequent moves, and the particular stresses these children carry.
Learn more ›Not Sure Where to Start?
Tell us what you are noticing. A parent consultation helps you figure out the right kind of support.
Talk with us ›What to expect
What child therapy may look like
Therapy is built around your child's age and personality, because that is how children open up. Depending on what fits, it may include:
Not every technique is used with every child. Younger children often lead with play and art. Older children and teens may lean more on skills and conversation.
You are part of this
Parents are part of the process
You know your child better than anyone, which makes you central to the work. You will receive guidance, education, and appropriate check-ins, and coaching on how to support your child at home.
When it is the better fit, we also offer parent-only support, so your child does not have to be ready to come in for you to start getting help.
Why families choose New Birth
Personalized, whole-child, private-pay care
As a private-pay practice, we can keep care personalized and clinically driven, shaped around your child rather than dictated by insurance limits.
- Care designed around your specific child and family
- The whole-child view, including the body, not just talk
- Trauma-informed treatment throughout
- A veteran-owned practice that understands military-connected kids
- Comfortable with families who tried therapy elsewhere and felt stuck
- Real partnership with parents at every step
- Parent-only support available
- In person in San Diego, or telehealth across California
- A warm, child-friendly setting
- A faith-integrated option for families who want it
Let's help your child feel like themselves again
You don't need a diagnosis or all the answers to reach out. Tell us what you are noticing, and we will help you find the right next step for your child.
Common questions
Parents often ask
How do I know if my child needs therapy?
When something has changed and it is getting in the way of daily life, sleep, school, friendships, or family, or when worry or big feelings keep showing up, it is worth a conversation. You do not need a diagnosis to reach out. A parent consultation can help you decide.
What ages do you work with?
We work with children ages 5 and up, along with teens and families.
What happens during the first session?
We usually begin with a parent consultation, where you share what you are noticing. Early sessions with your child focus on building comfort and trust before any deeper work.
Will I participate in my child's treatment?
Yes. Parents are part of the process through consultation, guidance, and appropriate check-ins, and we coach you on supporting your child at home.
What if my child refuses to talk?
That is common and completely okay. A great deal of children's therapy happens through play, art, and activities rather than direct conversation.
How long does therapy last?
It varies by child and goal. Some families come for a short season, others longer. We revisit the plan together as your child progresses.
Is therapy confidential for my child?
Children benefit from a private space to open up. We keep you informed and involved in a developmentally appropriate way, and we always tell you about anything affecting your child's safety.
Can you communicate with my child's pediatrician or school?
Yes, with your written authorization and when it is helpful, we can coordinate with your pediatrician or your child's school.
Is faith-integrated counseling available?
Yes, for families who want it. It is always optional and never required.
Do you take insurance, and do you provide superbills?
New Birth is a private-pay practice. We provide superbills you can submit to your insurer for possible out-of-network reimbursement, though reimbursement is never guaranteed. Current rates are on our fees page.
Explore our children's services
New Birth Family Counseling provides psychotherapy to clients located in California and offers whole-child, mind-body informed care for children ages 5 and up. This page is informational and does not constitute medical or psychological advice or a diagnosis. Every child is different, and outcomes vary.
Are you a pediatrician or provider looking to refer a child? Visit our professional referrals page.
Your children are carrying part of it too.
Military kids are often the last ones anyone asks about. They change schools every few years, hold the household together during deployments, and read a struggling parent accurately long before anyone explains anything to them.
Some of them look fine. A lot of military kids become very good at managing everyone else's mood, and it gets praised as maturity when it's closer to vigilance.
We work with children and teens from military families using play, sand tray, and art therapy for younger kids, and child-adapted EMDR and somatic work where trauma is part of the picture. If your child won't come in, you can still start. Parent coaching and filial therapy work through you.
You can start without your child.
One of the most common reasons a family never begins therapy has nothing to do with whether they need it. The child simply refuses to go, and the parent runs out of ways to make it happen.
That isn't a dead end here. Some of the most durable work we do never has the child in the room at all.
"He says therapy is for crazy people and he's not going."
Common in kids around 8 to 12, who have usually absorbed that from somewhere."She's fine at school. It all comes out at home, at me."
Which often means home is the only place she feels safe enough to fall apart."I don't know if he needs therapy or if I need to parent differently."
A fair question, and one worth answering before signing a child up for anything.Filial therapy trains you as the one who helps.
Filial therapy, sometimes called parent-child relationship therapy, teaches you the same core skills a play therapist uses, then supports you in using them with your own child at home. You come to sessions. Your child does not.
You learn how to run structured play sessions, how to reflect what your child is expressing without correcting or redirecting it, how to set limits that hold without escalating, and how to read what the behavior is actually communicating.
"A therapist gets one hour a week with your child. You get all the others. Filial therapy puts the skills where the time already is."
We start with what's happening
A full picture of your child, your household, what's been tried, and what a hard day actually looks like. No commitment to a particular approach yet.
You learn the skills
A handful of specific, teachable skills, practiced in session with feedback. This is coaching, not lecturing, and it's normal to feel awkward at first.
You use them at home
Short, regular special playtimes with your child, structured so they carry therapeutic weight rather than becoming another chore.
We review what happened
You bring back what worked, what went sideways, and what your child did that you didn't expect. We adjust from there.
Your child joins only if it's useful
Many families never need that step. Some do, and by then the child usually knows it isn't a punishment.
This tends to fit when
For teens, it looks different
If you're not sure whether to bring your child in, start with a free 15-minute consultation on your own. We'll tell you honestly what we think the right first step is, including if that means someone other than us.
Book a parent consultation