“Is it possible to start or maintain therapy given what is going on right now?”

Is it possible to start therapy for your child or teen during this whole coronavirus stay -at
-home order? That is today's question on Tips on Teens. My name is Kenton Toussaint. I'm a licensed
marriage and family therapist, and I'm the founder and clinical director of the Group Prepper
Practice Teen Therapy Center. I'm also the executive director for the non -profit organization
Child and Teen Counseling, both here in Woodland Hills, California. Every Wednesday at noon,
I come and answer your parenting questions here on Facebook Live So, thanks for your questions
Keep them coming And today's no different We're gonna jump into today's question right now
All right My daughter asked to start seeing a therapist but then coronavirus and the stay -at
-home order happened I still want to help her find someone but don't know how to do that without
leaving home Is it possible to start or maintain therapy given what's going on right now? Short
answer is Absolutely Of course 100 % yes You could totally

start this. Please don't let something like this get in the way. I understand. This is a crazy
time We're all going through it is very unique time. None of us have ever gone through anything
like this So we're all trying to feel our way through this and it can be a really jarring time for
kids and teens They're being isolated from their friends isolated from school their favorite
activities, there's a lot of People especially like seniors right now who they've been, you
know their whole high school careers was coming to this moment and then you know their state
competition is now gone or you know their prom is gone or there's a thousand different activities
that they could be have been working towards and now it's all gone and it's really frustrating
and sad and there's a lot of loss there and it does need to be processed again that's just one small
example of many that could be going on you know being cooped up with your parents all the time.
You know, it's it's hard to be in the same

small place, the same group people every day. That can be challenging and I totally get it. There
are ways to do it. Myself, my team, from both Teen Therapy Center and Child and Teen Counseling,
pretty much every one of our clients have moved to online sessions through video conferencing.
There are many different options through that. And every colleague I know has gone that way
too. So yes, you can do online sessions. Are they as ideal as face -to -face? No, they're not.
But again, we're in extreme times right now and it's important that people get the help that
they need so they can cope through this process and when we get to the other side they can hit their
ground running. We, I know I myself and my team, we're constantly talking about different ideas
to find new creative ways to engage with kids and teens online, through fun games you can play
online together, through creative, you know, artistic endeavors to do together. There's
a lot of things we can do with kids and teens, and

again, it's different when there's an adult, because usually when there's an adult, they're
just sitting across the couch and they're just talking. With kids and teens, it's a lot of times
much more interactive in therapy, but that's what we do, and we love to do it, and we love supporting
you guys, so, you know, please, if you already have a therapist in mind, please reach out to that
therapist. I'm confident that therapist probably has an online Mode to connect with you and
your child. So please reach out to them There are rare circumstances where online is not going
to work and that Teenager is going to need to see someone face to face that is also possible. We
are an exempt service I know myself, you know, pretty much. I'm the only one here at my office.
I don't really see many people here most days I don't see anyone except online Occasionally
someone does need to come in for a variety of reasons. Either they don't feel safe at home. They
don't have a safe place to talk at home. They

need that face -to -face contact and for some people it's really important. I can only speak
for us. I'm wiping down door handles and the sparklets bottle and everything else that's touchable.
I'm wiping down all the time even though no one else is really here just to be safe. So when someone
does come in, you know, they're just sitting on the couch. We're keeping that minimum six feet
distance away from each other. We're keeping our safety from each other but again that's the
exception the rule most people can do the online session so I think that's important anyways
if you have if your daughter or your son needs help please reach out to your therapist that you
find is going to best fit your kids needs if you have more questions you can call us here directly
at teen therapy center you can direct messages here on Facebook if you have questions you like
me to answer on the next tips on teens you can email me at tipsonteens at teentherapycenter .com.
Thanks for tuning in. I'll see you next

week. My name is Kent Toussaint, and stay safe, everybody. Bye -bye.