Counseling for Children & Preteens
CHILDREN | PRETEENS | PARENT & EDUCATOR COACHING | FAMILY INCLUSION
Rebecca Self, LPC | 15 years child development experience | Therapeutic Play Specialist | Anxiety & Depression Treatment for Children and Preteens | Practicing Clinician located in the Heights of Houston, TX
meet Rebecca
Rebecca Self (LPC) wants every child and preteen to know that they are enough as they are— that they are worthy of love and all the good things in life. Rebecca is a licensed practicing counselor who is on her way to being a certified play therapist as well. Rebecca primarily works with elementary-aged children and “tweens”. She meets kids where they are-- exploring the inner worlds of children through play, and helping preteens through blends of play therapy, art therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. This allows her to help guide, support, and provide objective strategies for parents to best engage their children for optimal social and emotional development.
Passionate about the service she provides, Rebecca partners with parents and believes that what children need most is an unconditional positive regard to explore the complexity of their emotional world with confidence. When you partner with Rebecca, she’ll meet you with compassion and positivity, bringing a fresh perspective to even the most challenging circumstances so that healing can begin.
Rebecca goes deep but has a fun energetic personality. Both her caring nature and drive help her get to the core of what your child needs. In her 13 years fostering child development in schools, she’s worked with children in Houston ISD as well as Katy ISD, and has always been an advocate for youth, evidenced through her extensive sponsorship and volunteer work.
When she’s not practicing play therapy, she’s playing at home with her family, friends, and two daughters (one year old and four years old). Rebecca is always on the go, loves running half marathons, and is a certified yoga instructor.
Find out if therapy is right for your child or preteen and reach out today for an introductory call.
Areas of Expertise
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Child Therapy
Play is the language of young children, and often a more direct method of communication than traditional talk therapy. Play helps us decode and understand a child’s thoughts and emotions, allowing us to support their development in therapy.
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Preteen Therapy
Preteens (or tweens) can often face challenges as they become more independent. They are forming identities by trying out new behaviors and roles that may bring on emotional challenges or distress. A blend of deep listening, play, and cognitive behavioral therapy allows us to support their social emotional development.
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Family Inclusion
Partnering with parents helps ensure that any of your child’s newfound self-discoveries, empowerment, and techniques for self-regulating are seamlessly woven into family life.
“Enter into a child’s play and you will find the place where their minds, hearts, and souls meet.”
- VIRGINIA AXLINE
Play therapy for children in Houston, TX
Play is the language of young children, and often a more direct method of communication than traditional talk therapy. Play helps us decode and understand a child’s thoughts and emotions, allowing us to support their development.
Talk, Play, & Mindfulness Therapy for Preteens
Are they teens or kids? The answer is both! Preteens are finding and testing their identities in this period and can often times struggle to identify this themselves. By employing a hybrid of methodologies we are able to help preteens make the discoveries that lead to emotional growth and maturity.
Our Approach
Parenting doesn’t come with instructions for all of life’s challenges. If you’re experiencing challenges that relate to your child’s social, emotional, and mental well-being, I can help.
At the heart of my mission as a therapist is the belief that self-awareness sets us free and enables a path forward from challenging cyclical behaviors. This allows us to find clarity, purpose and ease in our life— especially our relationships. We’re here to help your child or preteen deal with the social and emotional growing pains of developing self-esteem and dealing with the effects of depression, anxiety, or any other challenges. Our goal is to support your child by putting evidence-based therapies to practice to allow them to make transformative changes.
Here are just a few examples of common challenges our clients come to us for:
Mindful parenting
Anxiety
Anger & acting out
Social skills
Emotional regulation
Mindfulness techniques
Divorce & separation
Self-esteem
Self-confidence
Depression
Sibling rivalry
Emotion coaching
Benefits
As a parent, I understand how challenging it can be to navigate our children’s needs. Chances are you’ve tried everything you know to do right now and you’re beating yourself up for ‘fixing’ the problem for your child. This is a normal because you love your child deeply and only want what’s best for them. There’s a reason it takes a village to raise a child, and asking for help and support is not a failure.
Therapy benefits all children and some more than others need additional support to help process their thoughts and feelings.
My clients have experienced:
Reduced anger outbursts
Verbally express complex emotions
Self-initiate breathing techniques in high stress moments
Increased happiness
Increased self-confidence
Initiates positive negotiation skills with siblings and peers
Increased restful sleep
Decreased anxiety in new situations
Self-confidence
Decreased symptoms of depression
Ability to use creative forms of expression to help process difficult emotions
Age appropriate understanding of parental boundaries
I’m here to offer un-biased and compassionate support so you can get out of the painful cycle of negative thoughts and interactions.
