Reasons to Start Child Therapy in the Summer From a Holly Springs Child Therapist
As a child therapist at The Growing Place: Counseling & Play Therapy, I often hear from parents how they are considering not yet starting therapy for their child already transitioned back into school so they can enjoy their summer.
And to be clear, I love for kids to enjoy increased family time, fewer stressors from the absence of school, and new activities during track-out or summer camp. But let me let you in on a little secret: the summer is actually a great time for your child to start therapy.
3 Reasons to Start Child Therapy in the Summer
More Flexible Scheduling + Fun
The summer can be a time of the year when child therapists find that they have more openings in their schedules than usual. This coupled with more flexible family schedules, makes the summer the perfect time to start child therapy!
Sessions, which typically occur 1x a week at the start of therapy, can be scheduled around fun summer activities.
2. Lower Stress When Building a Therapeutic Relationship
Starting therapy in the summer gives your child and their child therapist time to build a strong therapeutic relationship, which is foundational for seeing change and progress in the future, without having additional pressure and stress to do so “quickly”.
During the school year, parents of anxious, big feeling, or neurodivergent children may often find themselves on edge during the day from anticipating a call from school to pick up their child early due to big behaviors in the classroom or feel defeated on an almost daily basis when encountering resistance from their child in the morning to just attend school… PHEW! These daily stressors can pile up and create a sense of need for therapy to “work faster”, which can impact not only the child-therapist relationship but also the child-parent relationship as well.
With the summer having generally lower stakes and an absence of pressure from school for behaviors to improve, it can allow for both parents and children to have a lessened sense of pressure for “things to move along more quickly.” And since establishing a strong therapeutic relationship takes time and can impact the effectiveness of therapy overall, starting child therapy in the summer can be extremely helpful for both the child and their parents.
3. Easier Transition to School
(My favorite reason!)
For many children, transitioning back to school after summer can be a tough time to navigate. There are lots of changes that come with the start of a new school year including daily routines, adjustments to a new classroom and teacher/staff, and an increase in demands (just to name a few).
Because starting school can be an overwhelming time for some children, especially those who are anxious, highly sensitive, or neurodivergent, I recommend starting child therapy or play therapy services over the summer!
By starting early, your child can lean on an already existing support and resource (aka their child or play therapist) as they transition in and adjust to school.
Remember, therapy isn’t just about addressing the hard behaviors — it’s about feeling seen and understood, learning to trust, and experiencing new rhythms and delight.
Looking for child therapy or play therapy in Holly Springs?
If you live in Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Apex, or Cary and want to start your child in play therapy over the summer, I am here to help!