CHILD THERAPY Barcelona
Tailor-made therapy for kids IN Barcelona that helps your child feel happier and thrive
Our Child Therapy Services Are on Pause — We’re Happy to Offer Trusted Referrals
Reach out to our intake team for a referral via info@therapyinbarcelona.com
As a parent, it can be difficult to know when your child could benefit from therapy
When should you consider therapy as a means to improve matters?
These concerns are blocking you, preventing you from feeling content with life.
When a behavioural pattern becomes persistent, has a negative impact on school or is disrupting family life.
When you’re trying to help them “fix” it but it’s not working.
And it’s natural that you worry, because you want your child to have a good start in life and to be happy and healthy.
Child therapy in Barcelona can help your child become stronger. It fosters positive growth, helping them deal with feelings and situations.
Your child can learn to cope better, improve their communication and feel happier and calmer.
You can learn to manage situations or issues that used to leave you with a feeling of being out of your depth.
An English-speaking child therapist offering evidence-based therapy for kids in Barcelona can be a welcome guide.
Concerns we can help with
Easing anxiety
Does your child dislike being away from you?
Do they avoid social situations with other children?
Do they refuse to go to school?
Do they have trouble falling or staying asleep? They’re too restless?
Your child could benefit from anxiety treatment for children in Barcelona with one of our expat child therapists.
Coping with stress
Does your child complain about her or his activities and refuses to go to them?
Do they need to urinate frequently? Are they bed-wetting?
Do they have frequent nightmares and are afraid to go to sleep?
Are they aggressive? Do they bite, kick, scream or insult?
Does your child find it difficult to complete tasks that require patience?
Our child counselling service in Barcelona can help.
Recovering from depression
Has your child lost interest in daily activities and considers them boring? Does your child refuse to go on playdates?
Gets irritable easily?
Is grumpy?
Evidence-based therapy for kids provided by one of our English-speaking child therapists Barcelona can help.
Resolving behavioural issues
Tantrums. Meltdowns. Running away. Constant disobedience. Excessive defiance. Bedtime challenges.
One concern may be the origin of another, or your child may be coping with more than one of these concerns. If they are left unattended, they can lead to taxing situations that can alter the whole family’s dynamic.
How can we help?
Our therapists can guide your child to think outside a negative pattern of thoughts. They can teach them strategies to calm down or switch off in different ways and boost their self-confidence.
It will all depend on the issue, the child and the family.
Managing ADHD | OCD | ASD | DevelopmentAL changes
Moving and living abroad entails a disruption of your child’s daily routine. It means their world may not be organised and predictable anymore.
This can create a sense of insecurity that can worsen or trigger disorders. It can also be difficult to find the right support for neurodiverse kids in Barcelona.
How can we help?
ADHD
Our child therapist might help you and your child develop and create a daily schedule and focus on strategies to stay organised. Or perhaps, we might establish concrete goals for behaviour and achievement or train them in social skills.
OCD
Therapy with a therapist who specialises in OCD treatment for kids can provide a safe space where we will focus on what triggers the compulsions and learn to tolerate these better.
ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder
In child therapy, we may use a CBT approach or we may help your child improve their social interactions with role-playing. We can coordinate support with your child’s school.
DevelopmentAl changes
Language Disorders. Cognitive Delays. Emotional or Behavioural Delays.
In therapy, we will work on building or maintaining self-esteem and provide space for them to discover what they’re good at. We may also share strategies with you and your child that can help strengthen specific areas.
Overcoming problems maintaining friendships or interacting socially with peers
Does your child avoid interacting with peers or is she or he often “in his own world”?
Do they have trouble finding out how to fit in?
Does your child struggle to make conversation or, on the contrary, talks too much?
Do they worry excessively about what others think about them?
Coping with bullying or peer pressure
Is your child constantly being left out of activities?
Is someone intimidating them or talking down to them?
Are they getting “accidentally” pushed around in school?
Is someone spreading lies or rumours about them?
How can we help?
In child therapy, we may help build your child’s self-esteem or teach them new constructive thought patterns.
Our therapists may also use an IFS (Internal Family Systems), Somatic Therapy or Expressive Arts approach to help cope with the situation.
With your support, they may contact the school or be in touch with school counsellors if that may be helpful to your child.
Relieving school stress and anxiety
Is your child struggling with perfectionism or worrying about school performance?
Do they feel sick every morning before going to school?
Do they refuse to answer when the teacher asks a question in class?
Dealing with school adaptation
Starting a new school in a new country is hard. Your child has to learn rules, routines, and fulfil expectations while being “the new kid”.
Have they lagged behind? Or perhaps they’re ahead and are bored. Maybe they’re not joining in the class activities.
Adapting can be challenging.
Helping with learning difficulties
Reading. Writing. Maths. Non-verbal skills. If your child is coping with learning difficulties, striving to adjust to a new school can be tough.
They may be finding it hard to keep up with a different curriculum or struggle to adapt to other teaching methods.
How can we help?
Child therapy can help kids manage the strong emotions that adjusting to a new school can create.
Our English-speaking therapists in Barcelona can teach them time management and organisational skills to cope with homework or extracurricular activities.
They may learn techniques to manage learning difficulties.
Whatever they need to help them navigate changes and challenges.
Adapting after a relocation or change
Is your child missing his or her friends back home? Or maybe it’s Grandma and Grandpa who they miss?
Are they having trouble adapting to the new family dynamics?
How can we help?
During child therapy sessions, we will help your child cope with change by exploring their grief and widening their focus from the challenges to include the benefits, so they may more readily embrace the change.
We can help kids with relocation challenges in Barcelona.
Dealing with Screen time
Does your child get angry if you ask them to “unplug”?
Do they refuse to go out with family or friends because they want to stay at home enjoying screen time?
Do they rush through their homework so they can get back on screen time faster?
Maybe it hasn’t become an issue yet, but you would still like to see a counsellor to prevent it from becoming one.
How can we help?
In child therapy, we can develop strategies to negotiate and manage screen time with you and your child and promote offline activities.
Coping after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event
Does your child constantly worry about the possibility that something bad might happen to you or another family member?
Are they having trouble expressing their feelings and thoughts?
Do they avoid the place where they witnessed or experienced the event?
Are they having nightmares?
Reactions to trauma are varied and can include a wide range of behaviours or responses.
How can we help?
Therapy with one of our skilled expat child therapists in Barcelona provides a safe place to understand emotions and learn coping and calming skills.
Recovering from the death of a loved one or a pet
Has a loss triggered fears about death in your child?
Are they clingy and have developed separation anxiety?
Do they ask where the person or pet is? Or when they are coming back?
How can we help?
In grief therapy for children, we will explore and find ways to express and understand feelings to help your child work through their grief.
Tackling family challenges
Does one of your children constantly compare himself or herself to a sibling?
Do they fight over who is the best in something?
Is your older child picking on her or his younger sibling?
Has your child taken on a caring role because he or she worries about your mental health issues?
How can we help?
In child therapy, we will improve your child’s communication skills and teach them conflict resolution strategies.
Improving child-parent relationship
Do you feel your child doesn’t listen to you? Or do they say you don’t listen to them?
Do you spend your time together on devices?
Is it getting harder and harder to move on after an argument?
The relationship between yourself and your child can affect their social, physical, mental and emotional health. You are aware of this and want to improve your relationship.
How can we help?
In child therapy, we will help both of you reshape unhealthy patterns, build a stronger connection between you and learn to accept and give nurture and love.
Navigating adoption
Do they feel different? They may be grieving the loss of familiarity or of a sibling.
Are they afraid you’re going to abandon them? They could have developed separation anxiety.
Are you finding it difficult to connect with your child? Do you feel there’s a part they’re holding back?
Is your child curious about their birth parents? Do you need support to navigate this emotionally complex moment?
How can we help?
Child therapy provides a safe space where your child can explore her or his identity, process feelings and help heal attachment issues.
Adjusting to a new sibling
Do you have to watch your child around his or her new sibling? You think they may have jealousy issues.
Does your child feel their sibling is invading their space?
Are they regressing? Do they suck their thumb, want to drink from a bottle or have potty issues?
Is your child rivalling constantly for your attention? Do they cling to you or throw tantrums?
How can we help?
In therapy, we will help your child understand and accept the differences between themselves and their new sibling as well as the changes in the family dynamics.
Managing picky eaters
Does your child only eat vegetables if they’re covered in ketchup or you mush them?
Do they negotiate throughout the meal for the end treat? It started as a strategy to encourage them to eat, but it has got out of hand?
Do they only eat a handful of foods and refuse to try anything new?
How can we help?
In child therapy, we will discover why your child is a picky eater to be able to tailor-make a plan that could help expand their food repertoire.
Tackling health issues
Is your child unable to go to school for health reasons? Do they worry about falling behind?
Is your child housebound or bedridden? Are they getting bored and irritable?
Has someone in the family been diagnosed with a terminal illness? You are not sure how it’s affecting your child.
Does your child struggle to adjust to life with a chronic disease? They are finding it hard to manage their illness.
How can we help?
In therapy, your child will be able to talk about the illness, appointments, and procedures in an age-appropriate way.
Our therapists may help them create plans to keep up with school work and handle restrictions.
This will all depend on how the illness is affecting your child’s life.
At Therapy in Barcelona, we tailor-make therapy to adapt to your child’s unique situation and concerns
Our therapists draw on different techniques to discover where your child’s issues stem from (sensitivity to changes, loneliness, anxiety, etc.).
They might use art, music, games or role-playing to help them understand their thoughts and feelings and to seek new solutions to their day-to-day problems.
They might decide on teaching them mindfulness or Social Thinking to help them regulate self-behaviour.
It will all depend on your son or daughter’s concerns and on the change you wish to see.
Therapy in Barcelona has been helping internationals in Barcelona since 2011, first as a solo practice, and later as a group one
Since 2018, we have invested more than 20.000 hours helping expats, their children and families achieve their goals.
Effectiveness
We focus on tailor-made interventions using evidence-based techniques.
Non-judgmental acceptance
We see help-seeking as a strength and take pride in creating a safe space for our clients to explore issues.
International mindset
We deeply respect our clients’ lived experience and backgrounds. We embrace differences.
Our therapists can provide specialist child therapy to children 5+
Perhaps you consider therapy to be only “useful” for “major” issues?
If something is making your child unhappy, it’s important, whether it’s a small or a big concern.
Sometimes they will need help understanding a situation or expressing their feelings. Others might need to process trauma or cope with divorce.
There are many reasons why you may consider counselling for your child, and none is either right or wrong.
Whatever may be worrying you, we can help. If we can’t, we’ll point you in the right direction.
What to expect of the child therapy process
As therapy is adjusted to you and your child’s unique concerns and situations, this is only a rough guide.
1
Start
Complete the intake form or book a discovery call with our Intake Coordinator. We will then inform you who your child has been matched to and schedule an initial session with you.
2
Intake appointment
Usually, parents will be asked to come without their child to explain the issues that have led them to therapy.
During the appointment, you will talk about your child’s therapy process and structure. You may agree to a 40-minute session with your child and then a 10-minute talk with you. Or perhaps the therapist will work with your child a few sessions before talking with you again.
3
Following 2-4 sessions
The therapist will build a connection with your child and find the root of the issue to be able to set therapy goals.
4
SESSIONS 5 to more
The therapist will help your child build helpful thinking patterns and healthy behavioural habits that they can put into practice at home or elsewhere.
5
Winding down and finishing therapy
You will probably decrease the frequency of sessions and, as goals are achieved, the therapist will prepare you and your child to finish therapy.
Therapy should have brought about a change in thoughts, feelings and behaviours that help your child feel more positive, confident and happy.
Our Child Therapy Services Are on Pause — We’re Happy to Offer Trusted Referrals
Reach out to our intake team for a referral via info@therapyinbarcelona.com
Our fees:
Once you are matched to a therapist, we will let you know their fees and preferred payment method.
Are you ready to reach out to make sure your child has help in navigating life’s challenges?
Because you wish to see them happy and enjoying life.
Because you want them to discover their potential.
Fill in the intake form and we will contact you within 24 hours Monday to Friday (except national holidays).
Our Child Therapy Services Are on Pause — We’re Happy to Offer Trusted Referrals
Reach out to our intake team for a referral via info@therapyinbarcelona.com
FAQ
Child Therapy FAQs
Child therapy at Therapy in Barcelona provides evidence-based therapy for children (typically ages 5-12) who are experiencing emotional, behavioural, or adjustment difficulties. Our English-speaking child therapists specialise in helping expat children navigate the unique challenges of living abroad.
We help with tantrums and meltdowns, excessive defiance, bedtime challenges, anxiety and worry, difficulty adjusting to new schools, learning difficulties, social challenges, homesickness, trauma responses, grief and loss, screen time issues, and behavioural problems that disrupt family life.
We address challenges specific to expat children including adapting to new schools and curricula, missing friends and family back home, language barriers, cultural adjustment, feeling different from local children, and coping with frequent relocations.
We use child-friendly, evidence-based approaches including play therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Therapy, Expressive Arts therapy, Cognitive Behavioural or Rational Emotive Therapy adapted for children, and other developmentally appropriate techniques.
Yes, as well as all being 100% fluent in English, our team speaks multiple languages including French, Swedish, German, Austrian-German, Swiss German, Portuguese, Afrikaans, Spanish, and Catalan.
We typically start with a parent consultation to understand your concerns and your child’s history. Then your child meets individually with their therapist. We may include parent sessions or family work when beneficial for your child’s progress.
Child therapy sessions cost €80-€85 for 50-minute sessions, depending on the therapist. Please see our fees page for detailed pricing.
We address academic difficulties, social challenges, adapting to different teaching methods, learning difficulties, and adjustment issues related to being “the new kid.” We may coordinate with schools when helpful and appropriate.
We work with children from age 5 upwards. For children, we often include more parent work and family therapy approaches.
Our child therapists use age-appropriate techniques including play therapy, art and expressive activities, games, storytelling, and other creative methods that help children express themselves naturally.
Duration depends on your child’s specific needs, age, and the complexity of issues. Some children show improvement quickly, while others benefit from longer-term support as they develop and grow.
Our therapists are skilled at engaging reluctant children. We create a safe, fun environment where children can express themselves without pressure, and we work at their pace to build trust and rapport. However, if the fit isn’t right we help you match to another therapist or an external service.
Yes, we help children and families develop healthy relationships with technology, create boundaries around screen time, and promote engaging offline activities.
