The child psychiatrists at Clarity Clinic in Chicago specialize in a variety of methods focused on child development, family dynamics, and emotional regulation to assess the individual needs of the child and their families and identify treatment options that best fit them. Many times, children’s behavior or emotional concerns are the results of external factors, and through assessment and evaluation, our clinicians work with the entire family unit to identify strengths to focus on, as well as teaching coping skills to reduce symptoms.
Play Therapy
Children often have difficulty expressing themselves verbally, which can result in frustrations for the child. Play therapy provides children with the opportunity to express themselves through a language that is more recognizable to them — play. With the aid of a play therapist, children can learn skills and tools to better understand and express their thoughts and emotions which can positively impact development. Play therapy is a proven effective psychotherapy treatment method for children who suffer from a wide range of struggles including:
Communication, resolving and processing trauma, exploring emotions and thoughts, problem-solving, addressing grief and loss, and developmental concerns.
Adjustment Issues
Children may exhibit behavior or emotional struggles triggered by an identifiable stressor in their life. Children may struggle with some of the following adjustments:
- Divorce
- Grief/Loss
- Moving
- Bullying
- New sibling
Utilizing play therapy, talk therapy, as well as other therapeutic interventions, we work with each child and their family to help them adjust and identify coping skills to support the child as they work through and process life’s difficulties.
Child/Adolescent Assessments
Clarity Clinic’s Chicago child psychiatrists also offer a wide variety of psychological, cognitive, and psychoeducational testing services for children, adolescents, and teens.
Psychological Testing
A psychological evaluation examines an individual’s behavior, intellectual functioning, academic abilities, self-concept, strengths, and socio-emotional adjustment.
Evaluations (including neuropsychological, biopsychosocial, and psychoeducational), offer patients a multi-disciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment of developmental, emotional, learning, and behavioral disorders.
A psychological evaluation can be used adjunctive to therapy to help gain diagnostic clarity and provide recommendations to improve the overall quality of life and emotional functioning of the child.
Cognitive Testing
Cognitive testing is provided for individuals experiencing memory, attention, or learning difficulties to help identify potential neurological disorders that may be impacting cognitive functioning. Specific measures are selected to formulate a battery of assessments to the referral question.
Psychoeducational Testing
Psychoeducational testing assesses an individual’s intellectual abilities (relative strengths and weaknesses), basic academic achievement (reading, writing, mathematics), and psychological screenings to provide information about potential learning disabilities or other disorders that might interfere with academic or occupational functioning.
Psychoeducational evaluations may also be used as guidelines for academic accommodations.
