Therapy can help if your child or teen experience:
- Persistent worry, fear, or anxiety that interferes with school or daily activities
- Low mood, withdrawal, or loss of interest in things they used to enjoy
- Outbursts, emotional meltdowns, or difficulty regulating big feelings
- Avoidance of school, social situations, or activities they previously enjoyed
- Trouble sleeping, stomach aches, or physical complaints linked to stress or anxiety
- Obsessive thoughts or repetitive behaviors that are hard to control
- Struggles with focus, organization, or keeping up with academic demands
- Difficulty with friendships, peer relationships, or social confidence
Palo Alto Therapy specializes in child and teen therapy across Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose. Our CBT therapists work with anxiety, depression, OCD, school refusal, and more, for children as young as four through teens.
Our Approach to Child and Teen Therapy
Our therapists use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the most extensively researched treatment for childhood anxiety and depression, as the foundation of all our work with young people. CBT is practical and skills-focused. It teaches children and teens how to understand what’s driving their anxiety or low mood and what to do about it.
For younger children, we weave CBT into play-based and creative approaches that make it accessible and engaging. For children whose anxiety is driving family accommodation, our certified SPACE therapists work directly with parents as the primary agents of change.
For teens, therapy focuses on building self-awareness, emotional regulation, and practical coping skills they can carry into adulthood. We work in a way that respects their growing independence and meets them where they are.
Parents are partners throughout. We provide regular parent guidance so you understand what’s driving your child’s difficulties, how to respond in ways that support their progress, and what to do at home between sessions.
You don’t have to watch your child struggle and wonder if it will pass on its own. Compassionate, evidence-based support for children and teens is available now in Palo Alto, San Jose, and Menlo Park — and online throughout California.
Other therapeutic approaches may also be incorporated based on individual needs, including:
Evidence-Based CBT & Exposure Therapy
We use CBT to help young clients identify and challenge anxious thinking patterns. For children who avoid feared situations, exposure therapy gradually builds confidence and tolerance — teaching the brain that feared outcomes don’t materialize and that anxiety is manageable.
Play Therapy for Younger Children
Young children often can’t express their struggles in words. Play therapy provides a natural, developmentally appropriate way for children to process emotions, build coping skills, and engage with the therapeutic process in a language that feels natural to them.
Family & Parent Support
Anxiety and emotional difficulties affect the whole family. We offer parent guidance sessions and family therapy to help caregivers understand their child’s challenges, implement supportive strategies at home, and avoid accommodation behaviors that can keep anxiety entrenched.
Recognizing Good Therapy
Evidence-Based
CBT is the most thoroughly researched treatment for childhood anxiety and depression. Our therapists don’t use outdated approaches or general talk therapy. Every method we use has a strong evidence base, and we adapt it to work for your child’s age, temperament, and specific challenges.
Your Child Actually Wants to Come Back
Getting a child or teen to engage in therapy takes more than clinical skill. Our therapists are warm, direct, and genuinely good with young people. Most kids who were reluctant at first are asking to go back by the second or third session.
You’ll Know What’s Happening
We don’t believe in open-ended therapy that goes on indefinitely. Sessions are structured and goal-focused, with practical exercises your child uses between appointments. Most children and teens see meaningful progress in months, not years.
Built Around School Schedules
Evening and Saturday appointments are available across our Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose offices so therapy doesn’t mean pulling your child out of school or rearranging your work day. Video therapy is also available for families who need flexibility.
With convenient office locations in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose, we proudly serve the entire Silicon Valley community – from Stanford University and the Peninsula to the South Bay, offering easy access for tech professionals, students, and families.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child and Teen Therapy
Consider reaching out if you notice changes in your child’s mood, behavior, or daily functioning that have lasted more than two weeks — or if your child is avoiding school, struggling socially, or expressing that they want help. You don’t need to wait for a crisis. Early support tends to produce faster results and prevents difficulties from becoming more entrenched.
The first session is a meeting with parents to understand your concerns and your child’s history. From there we get to know your child directly and assess their needs. We’ll develop a clear treatment plan and walk you through what to expect — so everyone starts with a shared understanding of the goals.
Very involved, especially for younger children. We believe therapy works best when parents understand what their child is working on and how to support it at home. We provide regular parent guidance as part of treatment, adapted to your child’s age and needs. For teens, we balance appropriate confidentiality with keeping parents meaningfully informed and engaged.
Yes. Video therapy is available and works well for many children and teens — particularly older kids and adolescents who are comfortable on screens. For some younger children, in-person sessions are more effective. We’ll help you figure out the best format for your child’s age and presentation.
We don’t prescribe medication, but we can coordinate with your child’s pediatrician or a child psychiatrist if medication evaluation seems appropriate as part of the overall treatment plan. Many children make significant progress with therapy alone, and we’ll always be clear about our clinical thinking.
What Our Clients Are Saying…
Palo Alto Therapy does not just provide talk therapy, but focuses on teaching skills to maintain therapy. You have a genuine interest in the client’s well-being and you offered a new way of thinking about or means of addressing my issues.
What Our Clients Are Saying…
I liked the emphasis on doing concrete things to get results-writing down negative thoughts, trying to say things to counter those thoughts…Thank you for helping me make my life better.
What Our Clients Are Saying…
I found the homework exercises to be very helpful to me. I’ve been able to use techniques I have learned from those exercises to slow down my thoughts when problems arise and work through whatever the issue may be, OCD or otherwise.
Meet Our Team of Experienced Therapists in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, & San Jose working with Children and Teens
Janika Filipe, AMFT, APCC
Hong-Ha Vuong, AMFT, APCC
Hannah Bodin, AMFT
Sarah Partridge, ASW
Sarah Chelew, AMFT
Sarah Covert, AMFT
Get Support for your Child or Teen Today
Your child doesn’t have to keep struggling. With the right therapist and the right tools, they can stop avoiding, start enjoying life again, and feel like themselves.