Supporting Young Children & Families Through Child-Parent Psychotherapy
- Alison Peak
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 10
Better outcomes for all start with strong, early relationships.
Yes, We Support Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children!
At ABHS, we often get questions like: “What’s the youngest age you provide mental health services for?”
The answer: We provide clinical mental health care for individuals of all ages - starting at birth.
While not every clinician is trained to work with every age, our team is committed to providing high-quality, developmentally appropriate care for all ages. For children from birth to age six, the most common approach at ABHS is Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP).
Why Would a Young Child Need Mental Health Services?
You might wonder what could bring a child so young into therapy. The truth is, young children experience stress, traumatic events, and major life changes, too.
Situations like:
Being placed in foster care
Witnessing domestic violence or a traumatic event
Experiencing grief or the loss of a caregiver
Having an early medical diagnosis or extended hospital stay
Adjusting to new caregivers, adoption, or big family changes
Young children often show their stress in behavior or big feelings - not with words. For children this young, the role of the caregiver is so important to help them heal. At this age, mental health services are for the child, those that care for the child, and anyone else who is engaged in the well-being of the child. Let’s learn a bit more about what CPP is and how it might be a support for young children in your world.
What is Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)?
CPP is an evidence-based therapy model that strengthens the relationship between young children and their caregivers. Designed specifically for children from birth to age 5, CPP is especially helpful for children when life has brought stress, loss, or trauma and is struggling with emotional regulation, behavioral difficulties or forming healthy connections with their caregivers.
The goal of CPP is to support both the child and the caregiver to understand each other better, improve communication, and work together to solve problems. This can help to:
Help parents and children understand each other better and talk in ways that bring them closer
Support children in making sense of big feelings like sadness, fear, or grief
Guide caregivers in how to comfort and respond to their child when emotions feel overwhelming
Build a stronger, more trusting bond between the child and their caregiver
Help families reconnect and rebuild their relationship when they’ve been apart or experienced disruption
When Might a Family Benefit from CPP?
Child-Parent Psychotherapy supports the ways in which young children and their caregivers work together to solve problems, understand each other’s perspective, and improve their relationship.
CPP is useful for children in foster care, who have been adopted, who have lost a close loved one, who have extensive experiences in medical settings, or who need some help adjusting to new family dynamics.
Here are a few examples of the situations where children may not always know how to talk about their feelings, and parents/caregivers may struggle with knowing how to help:
After a Traumatic or Stressful Event. Loss of a loved one, family separation, accidents, natural disasters, or sudden changes can affect a child’s behavior and sense of security. CPP helps the child and caregiver understand what they've been through and feel closer to each other again.
Disruptions At School or At Home. If a child has a hard time following rules at home or school, or getting along with others, it’s often because they don’t have the words to express how they’re feeling. Child-Parent Psychotherapy helps caregivers and other supportive adults better understand the child’s experience, the child’s perception of these events, and how those perceptions contribute to their behaviors and struggles. CPP then supports caregivers in responding in a supportive way that addresses the problematic behaviors.
When Children Struggle with Emotional Regulation. Young children often don’t have the words to verbally express how they are feeling. This means those feelings usually show up as meltdowns, tantrums, or other big reactions that feel unpredictable and fast. CPP teaches both the child and the parent how to recognize, name, and talk about difficult emotions by doing it together.
Rebuilding Trust and Connection. Children who have been adopted, are in foster care, or who have experienced early relational trauma sometimes have a harder time forming strong bonds with family members and caregivers. These early experiences can affect how a child connects, trusts their surroundings and others, and feels safe in relationships. CPP aims to build the bond between parents/caregivers and their child(ren) by creating a safe space for healing.
How Does Child-Parent Psychotherapy Work at ABHS?
At ABHS, we know that no one knows a child better than their caregiver—and we believe healing happens in the context of strong relationships. That’s why in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), the child and caregiver attend sessions together.
CPP uses play and play based activities to help the child and caregiver understand the other’s ways of communicating, to develop new skills and new ways of being together, and to help build a more secure relationship between the caregiver and the child.
Think CPP might be right for your child (and you)?
If your child has experienced a loss, trauma, or is struggling with big emotions or behaviors, Child-Parent Psychotherapy at ABHS can provide a supportive space for both the child and caregiver to connect, communicate, and grow - together.
With offices in Clarksville, Goodlettsville, Jefferson City, Nashville, and Smyrna, ABHS offers CPP services both in-person and via telehealth appointments to meet your family’s needs.
Learn more about therapy for young children and families at ABHS by exploring our website or giving us a call to get started.