Considering Therapy for Your Child? How to Get Kids and Teens on Board
with Vidya Krishnan, MD
Episode 30, Season 1 | May 6, 2021
Show Notes
As Head of Adolescent Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at CHC, Dr. Vidya Krishnan, sees her fair share of anxious children and parents. But what if the therapy is precisely the thing they’re most anxious about? In this podcast episode, Dr. Krishnan shares ways to introduce therapy to our children: as an opportunity to learn how to use our words better and handle big emotions. By framing it as a safe space to manage hard things, allowing them to set some of their own goals, and creating incentives for them to engage, we can alleviate feelings of blame or shame and help ease any misgivings. The right therapist will take the time to build a relationship with your family, help identify pain points, and — in collaboration with you and your child — develop goals to craft a unique, customized plan towards achieving them. And when you put it that way, it doesn’t sound so scary after all.
Guest Info
Vidya Krishnan, MD
Head of Adolescent Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at CHC
Prior to Children’s Health Council, she worked for almost 10 years in a group psychiatry practice. There she treated children, adolescents, transitional and college age youth, adults, couples, and families while providing them with appropriate therapeutic support and indicated medications. When not working, Dr. Krishnan can be found immersed in a book (she remains firmly old school in this matter, despite being in the Bay Area). Besides being an avid reader, she enjoys cooking and is always on the lookout for new vegetarian recipes to experiment with. Dr. Krishnan also sits on the board of Taarika Foundation, a Bay Area non-profit working to raise awareness about mental health issues in children and adolescents.
Resources
Learn more about CHC’s Clinical Services
Learn more about Evaluations
From CHC's Resource Library:
Helping Resistant Teens Into Treatment
My Teenager Doesn’t Want Help. What Should I Do?
How to Get Your Child to Go to Therapy
5 Tips to Prepare Your Child for a Psychology Consultation
How To Start Therapy
Everything You Need to Know About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Explained
How To Talk — And Listen — To A Teen With Mental Health Struggles
