- 1920 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd #211, West Palm Beach, FL 33409
- Telehealth: Serving clients throughout Florida
Skip to content Does your child seem withdrawn, anxious, or persistently sad? Are they having frequent meltdowns, struggling at school, or acting out in ways that feel out of character? Do they have difficulty making friends, managing their emotions, or recovering from a difficult experience?
Watching your child struggle is one of the hardest things a parent can experience. You want to help, but you may not know where to turn or whether therapy is the right step.
At Whole Health Psychological Center, our team of licensed child therapists in West Palm Beach specializes in helping children ages 5 through 12 navigate emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. We offer in-person sessions at our West Palm Beach office and telehealth sessions for families throughout Florida. We work closely with parents every step of the way — because when children heal, families heal too.
Children experience the world intensely but often lack the words or emotional tools to express what they are going through. Therapy provides a safe, supportive space where children can process their experiences, develop coping skills, and build emotional resilience.
Some signs that your child may benefit from therapy include:
Emotional signs such as persistent sadness or crying, excessive worry or fear, frequent mood swings, low self-esteem, or expressing hopelessness.
Behavioral signs such as aggression, defiance, tantrums beyond the expected developmental stage, school refusal, or sudden changes in behavior.
Social signs such as withdrawal from friends and family, difficulty making or keeping friends, or increased clinginess and separation anxiety.
Academic signs such as a sudden drop in grades, difficulty concentrating, refusing to go to school, or teacher reports of concerning behavior.
Trauma responses such as nightmares, regression to earlier behaviors like bedwetting, hypervigilance, or avoidance of people, places, or activities connected to a frightening experience.
Life transitions such as parental divorce, a move to a new school, the loss of a loved one, the arrival of a new sibling, or any significant change that has disrupted your child’s sense of security.
If you are not sure whether your child needs therapy, reaching out for a consultation is always a good first step. Our therapists are happy to help you assess the situation and determine the most appropriate level of support.
Play Therapy
Play is the language of childhood. Children naturally express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences through play long before they have the words to describe them. Play therapy is a research-supported approach that uses play as the primary medium for therapeutic communication and healing.
In play therapy, your child works with a trained therapist in a specially equipped playroom filled with toys, art materials, sand trays, and other expressive tools. Through play, children are able to process difficult emotions, work through traumatic experiences, practice social skills, and develop healthier ways of thinking and behaving — all in a way that feels natural and safe to them.
Play therapy is particularly effective for younger children and is used to address a wide range of concerns including anxiety, trauma, grief, behavioral problems, ADHD, and adjustment difficulties.
Child-Centered Talk Therapy
For older children and pre-teens who are more verbally expressive, our therapists use age-appropriate talk therapy approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based techniques, and solution-focused therapy. These approaches help children understand their emotions, challenge unhelpful thinking patterns, and build practical coping skills.
Parent Involvement
We believe that parents are essential partners in their child’s healing. Our therapists provide regular parent check-ins to share progress, offer guidance on how to support your child at home, and address any questions or concerns you have along the way. For some concerns, we may recommend family therapy sessions where parents and children work together with the therapist.
Our child therapists work with a wide range of concerns including:
Anxiety and worry including generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, and school-related anxiety.
Depression and sadness including persistent low mood, loss of interest in activities, and emotional withdrawal.
Trauma and PTSD resulting from abuse, accidents, medical procedures, natural disasters, or witnessing frightening events. For some children, EMDR therapy adapted for younger clients can be particularly effective.
Grief and loss following the death of a loved one, loss of a pet, or other significant losses.
Behavioral challenges including aggression, defiance, tantrums, and oppositional behavior.
ADHD including difficulty with attention, impulse control, and hyperactivity.
Autism Spectrum Disorder including social skills development and emotional regulation support.
Adjustment difficulties related to divorce, remarriage, moving, a new school, or a new sibling.
Self-esteem and social skills including shyness, social difficulties, and low confidence.
Growing up in Palm Beach County has its own particular texture. Your child may be navigating the back-and-forth of divorced parents who split time between here and up north, the disruption of hurricane season and evacuation discussions, the social complexity of starting at a new school mid-year because your family just relocated from somewhere else, or the quiet weight of being the child of high-achieving parents in a community that places real value on performance and appearance.
Our child therapists work with families from throughout West Palm Beach — including Northwood, Flamingo Park, El Cid, Southend, Grandview Heights, and Downtown — as well as from Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, and Delray Beach. We see children from every kind of family — snowbird families whose kids deal with a second set of friends and a second classroom every year, military families from the Tricare community, blended families navigating new sibling dynamics, and long-time Florida families where both parents are juggling demanding careers alongside parenting. Whatever your child is carrying, our therapists are here to meet them where they are — with warmth, with patience, and with real clinical skill.
Your First Appointment
The first session typically involves a parent consultation without the child present. This gives you the opportunity to share your concerns, provide background on your child’s history and development, and ask questions. Your therapist will use this information to develop an initial understanding of your child’s needs and create a plan for moving forward.
Your Child’s First Session
Your child’s first session is designed to be welcoming and low-pressure. Your therapist will focus on building rapport and helping your child feel comfortable and safe in the therapy space. There is no expectation that your child will open up immediately — building trust takes time and your therapist is experienced in creating the conditions for that to happen naturally.
Ongoing Sessions
Sessions are typically 45 to 55 minutes and occur weekly. Your therapist will provide regular updates on your child’s progress and adjust the approach as needed. Most children begin showing meaningful improvement within 8 to 16 sessions, though the timeline varies depending on the nature and complexity of their concerns.
We offer in-person child therapy sessions at our West Palm Beach office at 1920 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd #211, West Palm Beach, FL 33409. Telehealth sessions are available for families throughout Florida via secure, HIPAA-compliant video. Please note that play therapy is most effective in person due to its use of physical materials and the playroom environment.
We accept most major insurance plans for child therapy, including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield / Florida Blue, Cigna / Evernorth, United Health Care, Tricare East, and Medicare Part B.
Not sure if your child’s plan is covered? Call our office at (561) 721-6400 and our team will verify your benefits before the first appointment.
How do I talk to my child about going to therapy?
Keep it simple and positive. You might say something like “We are going to meet with a special helper who talks and plays with kids to help them with their feelings.” Avoid framing therapy as a consequence or something that happens because they are in trouble. Emphasize that many children see therapists and that it is a sign of strength to ask for help.
What if my child refuses to go to therapy?
Some children are resistant at first, especially if they are anxious or unsure what to expect. Our therapists are experienced in working with reluctant children and are skilled at making the first session feel safe and engaging. In most cases, resistance decreases significantly after the first or second session.
Will my child tell the therapist things they won’t tell me?
Possibly — and that is actually a good thing. Children often need a confidential space to express things they feel they cannot share with their parents for fear of causing worry or getting in trouble. Your therapist will maintain appropriate confidentiality while keeping you informed about anything that is important for your child’s safety or wellbeing.
Should both parents be involved in therapy?
Ideally yes, particularly if both parents are actively involved in the child’s life. Having both parents aligned and informed helps reinforce what the child is learning in therapy at home. If parents are separated or divorced, your therapist can help navigate how to involve both parties in a way that serves the child’s best interests.
What ages do you work with?
Our child therapists work with children ages 5 through 12. For older children and adolescents, please see our teen therapy page.
Every child deserves to feel safe, understood, and emotionally equipped to navigate the challenges of growing up. When children receive the right support early, they build a foundation of resilience and emotional intelligence that serves them for life.
Our team of licensed child therapists at Whole Health Psychological Center is here to help your child — and your family — find that foundation. We serve families in person in West Palm Beach and via telehealth throughout Florida.
Call us today at (561) 721-6400 or schedule online to take the first step. New client appointments are typically available within one week. Evening and weekend sessions are available.
Call us at (561) 721-6400, email us at info@wholehealthpsych.com, or visit us in person at 1920 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd #211, West Palm Beach, FL 33409. Telehealth is available throughout Florida.
We provide child therapy and play therapy in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, Delray Beach, and throughout Florida via telehealth.
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