FOUR OFFICES ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA · TELEHEALTH STATEWIDE

Therapy for Children & Adolescents in Pennsylvania

You know your child. When something shifts — mood, behavior, school, friendships, the way they handle a hard day — it is genuinely difficult to tell what is a phase and what needs more than you can give it.

CPA Counseling provides therapy for children, adolescents, and their families across Pennsylvania. We start by understanding what is happening with your child rather than by trying to stop a behavior — what has changed, what it may be communicating, and what they actually need. Treatment is matched to their age and stage, with caregivers involved appropriately. In person at four Pennsylvania offices or by secure telehealth statewide.

Children and Adolescents therapy can make a difference
No program commitments
UPMC · Aetna · Highmark · Cigna
All ages treated
Telehealth available statewide
Serving Clients since 2015

WHEN YOU’RE NOT SURE

Is this a phase, or is it something more

Most parents arrive at a page like this from one of three places. None of them is a diagnosis, and none of them means you have missed something.

They don’t seem like themselves

Quieter, or sharper, or further away than they were six months ago. You could not point to one incident. You just know the person in front of you is operating differently than the one you have known their whole life.

Emotions are getting harder to manage

Meltdowns past the age you expected them. Anger that arrives faster than it used to. Or the opposite — a flatness where there used to be reactions. The strategies that worked at home are not working now.

Something has changed around them

A move, a separation, a loss, a new school, a friendship group that turned. Something shifted in their world and they are carrying it in a way you can see but cannot quite reach.

HOW THEY TELL US

Children rarely say what’s actually wrong

Adults mostly announce distress. We say we are anxious, and usually we attach a reason. Children and adolescents often do not — partly because the vocabulary is still developing, and partly because they may not have identified it themselves. So it arrives sideways: through behavior, through sleep, through stomachaches that have been checked out and are real but have no medical cause, through a sudden drop in school performance, through a friendship that ended and was never mentioned.

“The first question isn’t how we stop this. It’s what is happening with this young person, and what do they need.”

A change matters more than a checklist

Nothing on its own means very much. Plenty of children are moody, or sleep badly for a month, or hate school for a term. What deserves attention is change — a clear shift from how your child usually is, lasting longer than a bad stretch, and starting to cost them something: friendships, sleep, school, the things they used to want to do.

And not every change is a disorder

Growing up involves real turbulence. Teenagers become more private, question things they used to accept, form intense friendships, and try out versions of who they might be. That is development doing its job, not a condition. The point of an assessment is to tell the difference — which is a clinical question, and not one you should have to answer on your own before calling.

WHY PARENTS REACH OUT

What brings families in

Worry and anxiety

Fears that have outgrown the situation, or a child who cannot settle.

Sadness that stays

Low mood, lost interest, or a withdrawal that has lasted past a bad patch.

Anger and emotional regulation

Reactions that escalate quickly and are hard to bring back down.

School and friendships

Refusal, falling grades, social difficulty, or bullying.

Grief and family change

A death, a separation, a move, or a household that reorganized.

Confidence and self-esteem

A young person who has decided something about themselves that is not true.

BEHAVIOR IS INFORMATION

The behavior is a signal, not the whole story

You want the behavior to stop, and that is reasonable. It also matters what is driving it, because the same behavior can mean four different things in four different children.

Anger

Can be frustration with a demand they cannot meet, anxiety with nowhere to go, grief with no language yet, or something happening outside the house. Limits still apply. Understanding the driver is what makes them work.

Refusing or withdrawing

Not going to school, not leaving the room, not engaging. Avoidance lowers distress right now and quietly strengthens whatever is being avoided — which is why pushing harder and giving up both tend to fail.

The body speaking

Headaches and stomachaches that are genuinely felt and medically clear. In younger children especially, this is often the first available way to say that something is wrong.

Pushing you away

In adolescents this is partly normal development and partly worth watching. The question is whether they are moving toward their own life or away from everything, including the things they used to love.

WHAT THERAPY LOOKS LIKE

It should look different at different ages

A five-year-old, an eleven-year-old, and a sixteen-year-old are not the same client. Therapy that treats them that way will reach one of them.

1

Younger children

Sessions may use activities, drawing, or structured tasks rather than sitting and talking, because that is how a young child can actually express and work on something. It does not look like adult therapy. Clinical work is still what is happening.

2

Older children and preteens

More conversation, more skills work, and more ability to reflect on what is going on — alongside activities that give them somewhere to put it. Caregivers are usually closely involved at this stage.

3

Adolescents

Mostly talking, and about what they bring rather than a stock list of teenage problems: relationships, identity, pressure, decisions, how they are coping. This only works if the relationship is genuinely theirs, which shapes how parents are involved.

YOUR PART IN IT

Parents matter — and are not the problem

Your child is the client. The environment around your child is part of the work. Those two things are both true and neither is an accusation.

Involved, appropriately

Depending on age and need, the therapist may meet with you separately, bring you into part of a session, suggest changes in how you respond at home, or work with the family together. You are not a chauffeur, and you are also not in every room.

Privacy, especially for teens

An adolescent will not use therapy that functions as a reporting line home. They also are not left entirely unsupervised. Your therapist sets out at the start what stays in the room, what you will be told, and the circumstances that require disclosure.

When individual therapy isn’t the whole answer

Sometimes individual work is right. Sometimes what helps most is a shift in how the family communicates, a school conversation, a medical review, or psychiatric input. That is not a verdict on your parenting — children develop inside relationships, so relationships are sometimes where the work is.

AGE AND DEVELOPMENT

Children are not small adults

What a child can tell you about their inner life depends almost entirely on where they are developmentally. A six-year-old does not have the words and may not have the concept. A twelve-year-old has both and may not yet trust you with them. A sixteen-year-old has both and is deciding, reasonably, how much of it is yours to know.

That changes everything about how an assessment is done and what treatment should look like. The same symptom means different things at different ages, and the same technique that engages a teenager will lose a seven-year-old entirely.

It also changes what counts as a concern. Increasing privacy, questioning your rules, intense friendships, trying on identities — those are the developmental task, not evidence of a problem. The clinical question is never the behavior alone. It is the behavior against what is expected at that age, and against who your child has been.

“We came in wanting him to stop. We left understanding what he had been trying to say.”

Causes are rarely one thing

Temperament, development, biology, friendships, school, something that happened, a mental health condition, and family relationships can all be part of it — usually several at once. Pages that trace every childhood difficulty back to the home are as unhelpful as ones that locate the whole problem inside the child. We assess rather than assume.

Therapy for young people at CPA

We assess before we conclude, and we look at your child in context — home, school, friendships, what has happened recently. Treatment is matched to their developmental stage and to what is actually driving the presenting concern. Caregivers are involved at the level that fits the age and the clinical picture. When what your child needs sits outside what we provide — psychiatric care, a medical evaluation, a higher level of care — we say so and help you get there.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THERAPY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Eight things for parents before you begin

What this page comes down to, if you read nothing else.

You don’t need a diagnosis to call

Start with what you are seeing. Working out whether it is anxiety, low mood, a reaction to something, or ordinary growing up is our job, not yours.

A change matters more than a checklist

Watch for a real shift in mood, sleep, school, friendships, or interests that lasts and starts costing them something. One symptom alone rarely means much.

Behavior is information

Difficult behavior still needs limits. Understanding what is driving it is what makes those limits work instead of escalating things.

Children aren’t small adults

Therapy should match their stage, their language, and their capacity. What engages a sixteen-year-old is wrong for a six-year-old.

Teens need privacy — and you still matter

A teenager will not use therapy that reports home. You still need to know about treatment and safety. The therapist sets that balance at the start.

Being part of it is not being blamed

Changing how adults around a young person respond is often the fastest route to change. That is leverage, not fault.

Individual therapy is not always the answer

Family work, a school conversation, a medical review, or psychiatric input is sometimes what actually helps. Good treatment identifies which.

Start by telling us what you see

Describe what changed, what worries you, and how it is affecting them. We will take it from there.

MEET THE TEAM

The therapists behind your care

The therapists below work with children and adolescents across our four Pennsylvania offices and by telehealth statewide.

  • allison bare

    Allison Bare

    LSW · Gottman-Trained

    Locations: Altoona · Telehealth

    Skills: Gottman Method, IFS, Somatic Techniques

    Services: Marriage Counseling, ADHD, Autism

    Therapy should reflect the fact that no two people experience the world in exactly the same way.

    Allison provides Gottman-trained couples therapy and works with individuals ages 10 and up — supporting them through ADHD, autism, anxiety, addiction, grief, and life transitions.

  • Amber Kottner

    Amber Kottner

    MA, LPC

    Locations: South Hills · Telehealth

    Skills: CBT, Solution-Focused, Person-Centered

    Services: Anxiety, Children & Adolescents, Grief & Loss

    I view therapy as a special partnership.

    With more than ten years in private practice, Amber brings a warm, open, and supportive presence — an eclectic, tailored approach that helps children, teens, and adults work through anxiety, depression, grief, and life’s difficult times.

  • Ashley Spahn

    Ashley Spahn

    MSW, LCSW

    Locations: South Hills · Telehealth

    Skills: EMDR, ERP, CBT

    Services: PTSD, OCD, Anxiety

    The therapeutic relationship is a partnership.

    With a warm, empathetic, partnership-based approach, Ashley helps adults work through anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, and life transitions — and celebrate their growth along the way.

CONDITION GUIDE

Parenting guides from our therapists

  • Tween to teen

    Children & Adolescents

    Tween to Teen: When Your Child Changes & You Can’t Say When

    Somewhere between about ten and fourteen, many children pull away, go quiet, or get moodier — often with no event you can point to. Much of this is normal development, but not all of it. The useful thing isn’t to decide between “just a phase” and “something serious” on your own, but to know which changes are ordinary and which are worth a conversation with a professional. Caitie Beatty, LSW works with children and teens in Altoona and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

  • Teen Mental Health

    Children & Adolescents

    Teen Mental Health: Signs & How to Help

    Teens today face school pressure, social media, and the challenges of adolescence, which can lead to isolation, anxiety, and depression. Warning signs include withdrawal, mood or sleep changes, dropping grades, and loss of interest. Parents can help by staying curious and non-judgmental, keeping communication open, and seeking professional support. Jessika Izzo, LPC and the CPA team support teens and families across Pennsylvania.

  • Family Therapy

    Children & Adolescents

    Should You Take Your Kids Out of School for Therapy?

    Taking a child out of school occasionally for therapy is usually worthwhile — a child’s mental health is as legitimate as their physical health, and most parents wouldn’t hesitate to miss class for a dentist appointment. Try to minimize disruption with after-school slots, telehealth, or rotating times, but don’t let a missed class stop a child from getting help they need. Shannon Wyzkoski, LPC and the CPA team support children and families across Pennsylvania.

  • Fidgeting & ADHD in Children

    Children & Adolescents

    Fidgeting & ADHD in Children: When Movement Helps Focus

    Fidgeting isn’t automatically a problem — for some children, movement actually helps them regulate attention and focus. The useful question isn’t "how do I make my child sit still?" but "what helps this child learn?" Fidgeting doesn’t diagnose ADHD, which is about far more than hyperactivity. Caitie Beatty, LSW helps children and families find strategies that fit the individual child, in Altoona and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

  • Temper Tantrums

    Children & Adolescents

    Temper Tantrums in Children: What They Mean & How to Help

    A temper tantrum is a behavior, and underneath it is usually a child who is overwhelmed, tired, hungry, frustrated, or unable to manage a big feeling yet. During a meltdown, a dysregulated child can’t reason or be lectured — the job is to help them regulate first and teach afterward. Over time, children learn to recognize their feelings and handle them. Caitie Beatty, LSW helps children and families across Pennsylvania, in Altoona and by telehealth.

  • A Parent’s Guide to Cutting

    Children & Adolescents

    Is My Teen Self-Harming? A Parent’s Guide to Cutting

    Self-harm, like cutting, is usually a way a teenager copes with overwhelming emotional pain — most often it is not a suicide attempt, but it always deserves to be taken seriously. If you’ve discovered your teen is self-harming, respond with calm support rather than panic or punishment, and seek professional help; therapies like DBT are very effective. If your teen has thoughts of suicide or is in danger, call or text 988.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions about therapy for young people

Straightforward answers to what parents ask most often before a first session.

Often you cannot, and you are not expected to. The signal worth acting on is change — a clear shift from how your child usually is, lasting longer than a rough week or two, and starting to affect school, sleep, friendships, or the things they used to enjoy. You do not need to settle that question before calling. Sorting it out is what an assessment is for.

Common, and not a reason to wait. Younger children often warm up quickly once they find it is not what they feared. Adolescents are harder, and pushing rarely helps — what usually does is being honest about why you are worried and letting them have some say in the arrangement. Some teenagers agree to a single session to see. Many stay after that.

Some of it, and not all of it. A young person will not use therapy that functions as a reporting line home, so what is said in session is generally held in confidence. You will be kept informed about how treatment is going, what would help at home, and anything that bears on your child’s safety. Your therapist sets out exactly how that works at the start, with you and with your child.

It depends on age and on what is being worked on. With younger children parents are usually closely involved, often with separate caregiver sessions. With adolescents, the young person needs a relationship that is genuinely theirs, so your involvement is more structured and periodic. Either way you are part of treatment — just not in every room.

Children and adolescents, with the approach matched to the stage rather than the age on paper. Younger children often work through activities and structured tasks rather than sitting and talking. Teenagers mostly talk. Some of our therapists specialize in younger children, others in adolescents, and our intake coordinator will match you accordingly.

Not by us — we are therapists, not prescribers. Many young people improve with therapy alone. Where medication is worth considering we will say so plainly and coordinate with your pediatrician or a psychiatrist, and that decision stays with you and the prescriber.

It works well for many adolescents, who are often more comfortable on video than across a desk. For younger children it depends — some engage well, others need the room and the materials in it. Your therapist will be straightforward about which applies to your child, and many families mix the two.

READY TO START?

You don’t have to know what it is

Waiting to be certain is the most common reason parents put this off, and certainty rarely arrives on its own. You do not need a diagnosis, a theory, or the right words for it. Tell us what you have noticed, what worries you, and how it is affecting your child. We will help you work out what comes next.