Child Therapy with
Supportive Counselors
Compassionate therapy for children, with support for the whole family system.
Children often tell us what they are feeling through behaviors, play, avoidance, big emotions, sleep changes, school struggles, body complaints, withdrawal, or conflict at home. They may not always have the language to explain what feels wrong, and their experience deserves careful attention.
Building awareness and skills
At Moving Forward Staying Present, our Portland-based therapists help children and families understand what is happening beneath the surface. We support children experiencing anxiety, ADHD, grief, trauma, emotional intensity, family transitions, social challenges, school stress, and difficulty with self-esteem or confidence.
Child therapy works best when the child feels safe, respected, and understood. It also works best when parents and caregivers receive support, understanding, guidance, and practical tools. We help children build emotional awareness and coping skills while helping caregivers understand how to support growth outside the therapy room.
Child Therapy Services
Our therapists tailor child therapy to the child’s age, developmental stage, personality, needs, and family context. Sessions may include talk therapy, play-based interventions, emotional regulation work, mindfulness, skill-building, parent consultation, family sessions, or collaboration with caregivers.
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Anxiety in children can often show up as clinginess, stomachaches, sleep problems, irritability, perfectionism, avoidance, school refusal, reassurance-seeking, or big reactions to change. Therapy can help children name their worries, understand body signals, practice calming strategies, identify underlying needs, and build confidence in their ability to handle hard things.
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Children with ADHD may struggle with focus, organization, transitions, impulse control, emotional regulation, homework, routines, perfectionism, or frustration tolerance. Therapy can help children and caregivers develop strategies that support attention, motivation, structure, and self-understanding without shame.
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Some children feel emotions quickly and intensely. Others hold everything in until they shut down or explode. Therapy helps children recognize feelings, understand what happens in their bodies, and practice tools for calming, communicating, and recovering after difficult moments.
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Children may grieve the death of a loved one, divorce, separation, a move, loss of a pet, changes in family structure, or other disruptions to their sense of safety. Therapy gives children a place to process loss in developmentally appropriate ways while helping caregivers support them with honesty, steadiness, and care.
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Trauma can affect a child’s sense of safety, trust, sleep, behavior, attention, and relationships. Our therapists use trauma-informed approaches that prioritize emotional safety, pacing, regulation, and the child’s readiness. We help children and caregivers understand trauma responses from an accountable place without blame.
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Children may struggle with peer conflict, bullying, academic pressure, learning differences, separation anxiety, sensory overwhelm, or difficulty navigating classroom expectations. Therapy can help children build self-advocacy, confidence, coping tools, and stronger communication with trusted adults.
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Children are always forming ideas about who they are, what they are good at, and whether they belong. Therapy can help children build a more compassionate sense of self, especially when they feel different, sensitive, anxious, misunderstood, or discouraged.
How Child Therapy Helps
Child therapy can help children:
Name and understand feelings
Build coping skills for anxiety, frustration, sadness, and anger
Improve emotional regulation
Strengthen confidence and self-esteem
Navigate grief, loss, divorce, or family transitions
Develop tools for ADHD and executive functioning challenges
Improve communication with parents and caregivers
Process trauma or stressful experiences at a safe pace
Build social skills and self-advocacy
Feel less alone with what they are experiencing
Child therapy can also help families:
Understand what may be underneath behavior
Respond with more clarity and consistency
Support routines, transitions, and emotional regulation at home
Strengthen connection with their child
Reduce shame and frustration
Coordinate care when school, family, or medical systems are involved
Our Approach to Child Therapy
At MFSP, we see children as whole people within whole systems. A child’s behavior often makes more sense when we understand their nervous system, family context, developmental stage, sensory needs, stressors, identity, relationships, and environment.
Our therapists may draw from play-based therapy, CBT, family systems therapy, narrative therapy, mindfulness, somatic approaches, attachment-based work, trauma-informed care, and parent coaching/skills training. We do not expect children to process emotions like adults. We meet them where they are and build from there.
We also value caregiver involvement. Depending on the child’s age and needs, therapy may include parent consultation, family sessions, caregiver check-ins, or practical strategies for home and school. Children need their own space, and caregivers need enough insight to support change between sessions.
Is Child Therapy Right for Your Child?
Child therapy may be a good fit if your child is experiencing:
Frequent worry, fear, or separation anxiety
Big emotions, meltdowns, shutdowns, or irritability
ADHD symptoms or executive functioning challenges
Difficulty with sleep, transitions, routines, or school
Grief, loss, divorce, or major family changes
Trauma, stress, or frightening experiences
Low self-esteem or negative self-talk
Peer conflict, bullying, or social withdrawal
Sensory overwhelm or difficulty with change
Increased conflict at home
Begin Your Therapy Experience with Us
If your child is struggling, you do not have to wait until things get worse. Therapy can help your child feel understood, build tools, and move through hard experiences with more support. Creating a system of support can offer prevention in addition to reduction in ongoing struggle.
Schedule a consult call, and we’ll help connect your family with the right therapist.
GETTING HERE
Location:
Our office is located in the Sellwood neighborhood of Southeast Portland at 8083 SE 13th Ave, Suites 2 & 4. Your therapist will specify which suite they are in. Come on upstairs to the second floor, but please keep in mind we are not ADA accessible.
Parking:
There is plenty of free street parking in front of the building as well as in the lot in the back of the building, just behind OnPoint Credit Union (13th and Tacoma St). Park in a spot NOT labeled OnPoint Credit Union and walk up the stairs at the back of the building. Find your Suite: 2 or 4.
Public Transport:
From downtown
Take the southbound #40 bus towards Tacoma, get off at SE Tacoma & 13th, or
Take the southbound MAX orange line towards Milwaukie, get off at SE Bybee Blvd and transfer to the northbound #40 bus towards Swan Island. Get off at SE Tacoma & 13th.
From Concordia, Grant Park, Buckman, Hosford-Abernathy, etc.
Take the southbound #70 bus towards Milwaukie, get off at SE 17th & Tacoma. Walk four blocks west to SE 13th & Tacoma.
From anywhere else:
Google Maps can provide useful routes that include bus schedules.
By Bike:
From anywhere along the Willamette
Take the Willamette Greenway Trail along the river to the Sellwood Bridge, cross the bridge and take Tacoma St to SE Tacoma & 13th.
Take the Springwater on the Willamette, turn off and take Spokane St to Spokane & 13th.
From anywhere else
There are many neighborhood greenways and bike paths that link up in Sellwood. Google Maps can give specific directions. Here are instructions for how to enable the biking paths layer.