Child Therapy

Compassionate Child Therapy Services Available in Yorba Linda, Anaheim, and throughout California

Is your child struggling with big emotions, anxiety, depression, or disruptive behaviors that are affecting your child's mental health? At Full Vida Therapy, our group practice specializes in helping children express themselves, build essential coping skills, and develop greater confidence through evidence-based child therapy approaches.

Our team of licensed mental health professionals understands the unique needs of children and tailors each therapeutic approach to meet their specific emotional and behavioral challenges. We offer virtual child therapy to families in Yorba Linda, Anaheim, Irvine, and throughout California, creating a safe environment where children can grow and heal from the comfort of home.

What Is Child Therapy?

Child therapy provides children with a specialized safe space to work through emotional, social, and behavior disorders in ways that make sense developmentally. Our therapists are extensively trained to meet kids where they are, using therapeutic techniques that help them express what's happening inside—even when they don't yet have the words.

Creative activities such as art therapy, storytelling, and play are incorporated into therapy sessions to address each child's mental health needs while enhancing their self-esteem, social competence, and communication skills.

At our Yorba Linda-based group practice, we utilize several evidence-based therapeutic approaches including:

  • Play Therapy: Allowing children to express themselves through their natural language of play

  • Person-Centered Therapy: Creating a warm, accepting environment where children feel truly heard

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helping children identify and change unhelpful thought patterns

  • Art Therapy: Using creative expression to process emotions and experiences

Benefits of Child Therapy

Research shows that early therapeutic intervention can prevent many challenges from developing into more serious issues. Child therapy offers numerous benefits including:

Improved Emotional Regulation

Child therapy helps children identify, understand, and manage their feelings more effectively. This leads to better emotional stability and reduces disruptive behaviors or emotional outbursts.

Strengthened Self-Esteem

As children work through challenges and develop effective coping strategies, they gain a profound sense of accomplishment and confidence that positively impacts various aspects of their lives.

Enhanced Communication Skills

Through therapy sessions, children learn to express their thoughts and feelings more clearly. This improved communication fosters healthier relationships with family members, peers, and teachers.

Safe Environment for Expression

Our virtual therapy sessions provide a non-judgmental space where children can explore their emotions freely. This nurturing setting helps them develop healthy emotional processing skills and build resilience.

When Parents Should Consider Child Therapy

Many parents in Yorba Linda, Anaheim, and Irvine reach out to Full Vida Therapy when their children experience:

Anxiety and Depression

  • Excessive fears or worries that interfere with daily activities

  • School-related anxiety or reluctance to attend school

  • Symptoms of depression including mood changes and withdrawal

  • Physical symptoms related to anxiety

Life Transitions

  • Grief or loss of a loved one

  • Parental separation or divorce

  • Moving to a new home or school

  • Adjusting to family changes

Trauma Responses

  • Changes in child's behavior following distressing events

  • Highly sensitive temperaments that need additional support

  • Difficulty processing overwhelming experiences

Disruptive Behaviors and Emotional Challenges

  • Frequent emotional outbursts or difficulty calming down

  • Problematic behaviors at home or school

  • Intense reactions to seemingly minor frustrations

  • Behavior problems that affect family functioning

Social and School Concerns

  • Difficulty making or maintaining friendships

  • Experiences with bullying or peer rejection

  • Academic stress or performance pressure

  • School avoidance or declining grades

Our Specialized Child Therapy Approaches

Play Therapy

Play therapy leverages the natural medium of play—children's primary form of expression—to help them process emotions and experiences. This approach is particularly effective for younger children who may struggle to articulate their feelings verbally.

During play therapy sessions, our therapists create opportunities for children to communicate through toys, art materials, and roleplay. These activities provide a safe space for children to explore complex emotions in ways that feel natural and non-threatening.

Non-directive play therapy allows the child to lead the session while the therapist provides support and reflects the child's feelings. This approach helps children develop autonomy and confidence in their ability to solve problems.

Art Therapy

Art therapy combines the creative process with psychological theory to promote emotional growth and healing. Through drawing, painting, and other art forms, children can express thoughts and feelings that might be difficult to put into words.

Our art therapy approaches are particularly beneficial for children who:

  • Have experienced trauma

  • Struggle with verbal expression

  • Process information visually

  • Need alternative ways to communicate difficult emotions

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

For older children and adolescents who can engage in more direct conversation about thoughts and feelings, our therapists may incorporate elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This evidence-based treatment helps children identify the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

National Institute of Mental Health research supports CBT as an effective approach for treating anxiety, depression, and various behavior disorders in children and adolescents.

Family Therapy

While we work directly with your child, we recognize that healing happens within the context of supportive relationships. Our approach often integrates family therapy sessions to:

  • Provide parents with behavior management strategies

  • Improve parent-child interactions and family communication

  • Create a home environment that reinforces therapeutic progress

  • Address family patterns that may be contributing to a child's behavior disorders

What to Expect from Online Child Therapy

Engaging Virtual Sessions

  • Interactive digital platforms with age-appropriate activities

  • Sessions incorporate movement, expression, and play adapted for the virtual environment

  • Consistent, predictable virtual therapy sessions where children feel comfortable expressing feelings

Parental Involvement

  • Regular parent consultation to discuss progress and strategies

  • Guidance on how the parent interacts with their child between sessions

  • Resources tailored to your child's specific needs based on your child's age

  • Collaborative approach that respects your expertise about your child

Comfort of Familiar Surroundings

  • Children engage from their own home environment

  • Therapy becomes integrated into their regular life context

  • Parents can immediately help children practice new skills in real-life circumstances

Our Child Therapy Team

At Full Vida Therapy, our group practice includes mental health providers who specialize in working with children of different ages and with varied needs. Our child therapists bring warm, compassionate expertise to each therapeutic relationship, using evidence-based techniques to work effectively with children, adolescents, and their families.

We emphasize the importance of the therapeutic relationship, knowing that children thrive when they feel genuinely connected to and understood by their therapist. This foundation of trust allows for meaningful exploration, growth, and healing.

Online Child Therapy Throughout California

Our group practice provides virtual therapy for children across California, including families in Yorba Linda, Anaheim, Irvine, and beyond. We understand that various circumstances may make online therapy the best choice for your family:

Geographic Accessibility

  • Families in areas with limited access to specialized child therapists or mental health providers

  • Children in rural communities where finding the right provider may be challenging

  • Families who live some distance from our Yorba Linda location

Family-Specific Circumstances

  • Busy schedules that make in-person appointments difficult to manage

  • Children who may feel more comfortable in their familiar home environment

  • Families with transportation challenges or multiple children

All therapy sessions are conducted through secure, HIPAA-compliant platforms that are easy to access from your home.

Specialized Support for Diverse Needs

Neurodivergent-Affirming Approach

At Full Vida Therapy, we embrace neurodiversity and provide affirming support for children with diverse neurological differences. Our therapists understand that neurodivergent children—including those with ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, and developmental delays—have unique strengths and challenges that deserve specialized understanding.

Our approach includes:

  • Recognizing each child's unique cognitive style and strengths

  • Adapting therapeutic techniques to match processing styles and sensory needs

  • Helping children develop self-advocacy skills and positive identity

  • Supporting parents in understanding their child's neurological differences

Trauma-Informed Child Therapy

Many children experience events that overwhelm their ability to cope, leading to trauma responses that affect their behavior, emotions, and sense of safety. Our group practice employs trauma-informed approaches that recognize these experiences with sensitivity and specialized care.

Our trauma-informed work includes:

  • Creating consistent predictability and safety within the therapeutic relationship

  • Using sensory approaches to help children regulate their nervous systems

  • Providing education to parents about trauma responses

  • Utilizing evidence-based approaches like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) when appropriate

Clinical child psychology research supports early intervention for trauma to prevent long-term symptoms and disorders.

Cultural Sensitivity in Child Therapy

Full Vida Therapy is committed to culturally responsive care that honors each family's unique background, values, and traditions. We recognize that culture profoundly shapes how children express emotions, how families understand mental health, and what approaches to healing feel most resonant.

Our therapists recognize that a person's own childhood experiences and cultural background can have a significant role in how they perceive their child's behavior.

Let's Support Your Child Together

You don't have to navigate your child's emotional and behavioral challenges alone. If you're ready to explore therapy for your child, our team at Full Vida Therapy is here to guide you with empathy, expertise, and care.

Taking the first step in starting therapy can feel overwhelming, but many parents tell us they feel a sense of relief just from making that initial connection. Our intake process is designed to be straightforward and supportive, giving you clear information about how we can help your child thrive.