How It's Complicated works
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Find your therapistUse our free matching service for personal recommendations, or browse our network of 2,500+ therapists yourself.
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Create your free accountSign up in under 2 minutes. All you need is an email and a password, and you're ready to go.
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Start therapyReach out to your therapist and book your first session within 24 hours. Online or in person, in 60+ languages.
Learn more about children
Therapy for children refers to professional psychological support tailored to younger children, typically up to around 12 years old. Children experience a wide range of emotional, behavioural, and developmental difficulties, from anxiety and sleep problems to the aftermath of family change, bereavement, or adverse experiences. Therapists who work with children are trained to adapt their methods to the child's developmental stage, often using play, drawing, movement, or storytelling alongside or instead of direct conversation. The goal is to support the child's emotional wellbeing while also working with the wider family context where relevant.
Children do not always have the words for what they are experiencing. Behaviour is often the clearest signal that something is difficult.
- Persistent worry, fearfulness, or clinginess that does not ease with reassurance
- Significant changes in behaviour, mood, or sleep that last more than a few weeks
- Withdrawal from friends, activities, or things the child previously enjoyed
- Difficulties at school, including concentration problems, refusal, or falling out with peers
- Regression to earlier behaviours, such as bedwetting or separation anxiety, following a change at home
- Reactions to a specific event such as a bereavement, parental separation, a move, or a difficult experience
- Aggressive outbursts or persistent low mood that feels disproportionate or hard to manage
Therapeutic approaches for children are adapted to suit the child's age, needs, and capacity for verbal communication.
- Family therapy Family therapy works with one or more family members alongside the child, recognising that a child's difficulties rarely exist in isolation from the family system. It is particularly effective when family change or conflict is a central factor.
- Art therapy Art therapy uses creative expression, drawing, painting, or making, as a way into feelings that are difficult to put into words. It is well suited to children who find direct talking difficult or uncomfortable.
- Systemic therapy Systemic therapy considers the child within the context of their family, school, and social environment rather than focusing on the child alone, addressing the relational patterns that may be sustaining the difficulties.
- Counselling Child-focused counselling provides a safe, consistent space for the child to explore feelings at their own pace, with a therapist trained to work at the child's level.
It's Complicated is a therapist-founded mental health platform connecting clients with verified practitioners across Europe and globally, in over 60 languages. We work with over 2,500 vetted therapists, with in-person availability in Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Vienna, and other major cities, alongside online sessions worldwide. It's Complicated is free to use, and you pay your chosen therapist directly at rates they set.
Finding a therapist a child will actually engage with, in the right language and with the right approach, takes more than a general search. Our matching service is built to remove that friction. You complete a short survey, our psychologists combine data-driven insights with human judgement to identify the right therapists for your situation, and you choose from a shortlist of strong candidates. You can also browse our directory directly if you'd prefer to choose yourself.
Get matched with a therapist who specialises in working with children, or browse the directory.
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