Emotional therapy for children and adolescents is a psychotherapeutic process designed to support young people in understanding and processing their emotional experiences, developing self-regulation, building resilience, and resolving the difficulties that are affecting their wellbeing, relationships, and daily functioning.
Children and adolescents often lack the verbal and reflective capacity to articulate what they are experiencing. Emotional therapy for this age group therefore draws on a broader range of therapeutic tools than adult psychotherapy — including expressive arts, play, movement, drama, and creative modalities — allowing the child to communicate, process, and heal through means that are natural to their developmental stage.
Emotional therapy for children provides a safe, consistent, and non-judgmental therapeutic space in which the child can express what they feel — in whatever form that expression takes — and be met with attunement, understanding, and skilled clinical support.
The therapeutic relationship between child and therapist is itself a central instrument of change. For many children — particularly those who have experienced disruption, loss, or relational difficulties — the experience of a consistent, trustworthy, and emotionally attuned therapeutic relationship provides a corrective foundation for development.
Anxiety and fears — separation anxiety, social anxiety, specific fears, school anxiety, and generalised worry interfering with daily life and development.
Emotional dysregulation — persistent difficulties managing intense emotions: frequent outbursts, explosive reactions, or the opposite — withdrawal, shutdown, and inability to access or express feelings.
Depression and low mood — persistent sadness, loss of interest, social withdrawal, sleep disturbance, and negative self-image affecting daily functioning.
Behavioural difficulties — aggression, defiance, impulsivity, and conduct problems, understood as expressions of underlying emotional distress rather than character issues.
Trauma and adverse experiences — parental separation, bereavement, exposure to conflict or violence, bullying, abuse, and other experiences that have left an emotional mark.
ADHD and attention difficulties — emotional therapy supports self-regulation, impulse control, and emotional resilience alongside or separate from other ADHD-specific interventions.
Autism spectrum presentations (ASD) — structured emotional and relational support using expressive and non-verbal modalities where verbal communication is limited.
Learning difficulties and school-related stress — children whose academic difficulties generate significant anxiety, shame, or avoidance.
Grief and loss — bereavement, the end of significant relationships, and the impact of major life changes on the child's emotional world.
At IsraClinic, emotional therapy for children is provided primarily through expressive arts — drawing, painting, collage, clay, movement, dramatic play, and other creative modalities. These are not activities for their own sake. They are therapeutic tools that allow children to externalise their inner experience, process difficult emotions at a safe distance from direct verbal confrontation, and communicate what they may not have the words — or the safety — to say directly.
For adolescents, the approach shifts toward a more verbal and reflective process, while retaining expressive elements where clinically productive.
Sessions are individual. The therapist maintains close communication with parents throughout — sharing observations about the child's progress and working with parents to ensure gains made in therapy are supported at home. In many cases, parent guidance runs alongside the child's individual therapy as a complementary and mutually reinforcing process.
Emotional therapy for children and adolescents at IsraClinic is provided by Lihi Givol — a parent guidance specialist and expressive arts therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and families in schools, welfare settings, and Shaalvata Psychiatric Hospital.
Sessions are conducted in person at the Tel Aviv clinic and online where appropriate, in Hebrew and English.
Where clinically indicated, the child's emotional therapy is coordinated with parent guidance, psychiatric assessment, or other components of the IsraClinic clinical team — ensuring a unified approach to the child's and family's needs.
All work at IsraClinic is delivered within the framework of the Psychoergonomic Method — ensuring the therapeutic approach is built around this specific child's profile, history, and developmental needs.
Emotional therapy is indicated when a child or adolescent is experiencing persistent emotional, behavioural, or relational difficulties affecting their wellbeing, development, or daily functioning — and when these have not resolved with family support alone.
It is also indicated following significant adverse experiences — trauma, loss, family disruption — even when the child does not present with obvious distress, as children often internalise the impact of difficult experiences in ways that emerge later.
Early engagement with therapy tends to produce better outcomes. If you are concerned about your child's emotional wellbeing, professional assessment is appropriate.
IsraClinic accepts patients for in-person consultation in Tel Aviv and online, in English, Russian and Hebrew. No referral is required.
Lead Therapist: Lihi Givol — Parent Guidance Specialist & Expressive Arts Therapist | IsraClinic | Last reviewed: 2026
If you are concerned about your child's emotional wellbeing or behaviour, professional support can make a real difference. Our team is available in English, Russian and Hebrew.