How Different Approaches Work in Therapy for Children and Teens—And Why We Blend Them at Sunburst
Parents often ask, “So what exactly will my child do in therapy?”
Fair question. Especially if your image of therapy is a leather couch, awkward silence, and a lot of “How does that make you feel?”
At Sunburst Psychology, we work with families in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Mercer Island to create therapy that actually fits who your child is—not just what diagnosis they might have.
Our work with children and teens blends different therapeutic approaches because real kids don’t fit into neat categories—and neither should their care.
Therapy for Children Looks Different Than Therapy for Adults
Adults talk. Kids do. They move, play, draw, avoid, meltdown, act out, open up in strange ways, and test boundaries like it’s their job.
So therapy for children (especially ages 4–12) is often centered around:
Play-based therapy, where toys, stories, and drawing become tools for self-expression
Emotion regulation strategies, woven gently into games, movement, or pretend scenarios
Safe relational modeling, where kids build trust with a consistent adult who isn’t correcting or grading them
We meet your child where they are—then slowly expand what they can do, feel, and say.
Therapy for Teens Is About Respect, Space, and Depth
Teens are allergic to feeling controlled—but they are starving to feel understood.
In therapy for teens, we:
Create a space that’s free of performance pressure
Work on stress, identity, anxiety, perfectionism, or emotional burnout
Explore what’s underneath behavior—without judgment
Offer structure without rigidity, insight without lectures
Teens in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Mercer Island are often under high academic and social expectations. Therapy gives them somewhere to exhale and figure things out that don’t have right answers.
Why We Blend Approaches
Your child might need tools and space. They might need structure and softness. That’s why we don’t lock into one method.
At Sunburst, therapy is:
Relational – connection is always the foundation
Behavioral-informed – we support skills and symptom relief
Emotionally attuned – we help kids understand their inner world
Developmentally appropriate – no one-size-fits-all strategies
Collaborative – we involve parents when it’s helpful, not intrusive
Support for Families Across the Eastside
We work with:
Kids struggling with big emotions or behavior changes
Teens navigating stress, identity, or disconnection
Families raising gifted, sensitive, or neurodivergent children
Parents who want to stop reacting and start understanding
Therapy is available in-person and online across Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Mercer Island.
Want to Know What Therapy Will Look Like for Your Child?
We’re happy to walk you through it. You don’t need to guess, decode, or hope for the best.
Just ask. We’ll explain—with actual words, not therapy jargon.
