Therapy for Children & Teens

Therapy for Children & Teens

Dr. Ko provides compassionate, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based therapy for children, teens, and families. Sessions are tailored to each child’s age, needs, and family preferences and goals.

Session Details:

• 50-minute therapy sessions

• In-person (Carmel Valley, San Diego) or virtual/telehealth options

How Therapy Can Help

• Manage big feelings and emotions

• Cope with anxiety and stress

• Build stronger friendships and social skills

• Boost self-confidence

• Adjust to changes and transitions

• Improve behavior at home or school

• Support everyday routines

Therapy Approaches by Age

TODDLERS & YOUNG CHILDREN

• Developmental & behavioral interventions for autism, ADHD, and other emotional or behavioral challenges

• Project ImPACT (Dr. Ko is a certified trainer and is qualified to train parents and other clinicians). Project ImPACT is an evidence-based parent coaching program that helps parents teach social, communication, and play skills to young children with autism or other developmental delays.

• Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) (Dr. Ko has Level V certification, the highest level, and is qualified to train parents and other clinicians). PRT is a naturalistic, play-based intervention for autism that focuses on pivotal areas of child development, such as motivation and responsiveness, to improve social communication and reduce challenging behaviors.

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) (Dr. Ko has specialized training and experience in both the PCIT International and UC Davis approaches). PCIT aims to strengthen parent-child relationships and address challenging behaviors.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Evidence-based therapy to help children understand and manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

  • Dr. Ko also has specialized training in Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism (BIACA), a specific CBT approach for co-occurring ASD and anxiety.

• Emotion regulation and coping skills

• Positive behavioral strategies

• Social skills training to help children develop and maintain peer relationships.

• Motivation-building strategies

• Exposure therapy. Gradual, supportive techniques to help children face fears and reduce anxiety.

• Mindfulness and skills from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Practices to build self-awareness, flexibility, and coping with difficult emotions.

ADOLESCENTS

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Evidence-based therapy to help teens identify and manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

• Emotion regulation and coping skills

• Executive functioning support. Strategies for planning, organizing, and initiating tasks to improve academic and daily functioning.

• Social skills training (Dr. Ko is a certified provider of PEERS® for Adolescents and has conducted research and trained clinicians in UCSB’s Social Tools And Rules (START) Program to help teens build and strengthen peer relationships.)

• Motivation-building strategies

• Exposure therapy. Gradual, supportive techniques to help teens face fears and reduce anxiety.

• Mindfulness and skills from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Practices to build self-awareness, flexibility, and coping with difficult emotions.

• Skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Tools for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Parent Involvement

• Parent participation is tailored to your child’s age and needs

• For younger children, parents are actively involved in sessions and may be present during the entire session

• For elementary-school children, parents tend to be actively involved and participate through joining for check-ins, debriefs, or separate parent sessions as needed

• For teens, privacy and independence are respected, with parent involvement as appropriate and agreed upon