Therapy Group of Charleston
Parents are usually the first to notice when something has shifted. Your child used to run into school and now clings at drop-off. Homework nights end in tears, or a small request sets off a meltdown far bigger than the moment. Your teenager, who once talked through dinner, now answers in single words and stays shut in their room.
You may be wondering whether this is a phase or a sign that it’s time to get help. Therapy can help you sort that out, and it gives your child a trained adult outside the family to talk with about what feels hard.
Therapy Group of Charleston offers child and teen therapy at our Mount Pleasant office, and teens can also meet by secure video anywhere in South Carolina. Our two marriage and family therapists work with teens and with the parents trying to help them, and Savannah Jennings also sees children as young as 5.
Jump to: Kids 5–12 · Teens 13–17 · For Parents
Who we see: kids 5 and up, teens, and parents, in person at 913 Bowman Road in Mount Pleasant. Teens and parents can also meet online anywhere in South Carolina. Our therapists don’t provide psychological testing, ADHD evaluations, or medication, and they don’t see children younger than 5. If your family needs one of those, we’ll help you find someone who provides it.
Finding a Child Therapist in Charleston, SC Starts With You
You know your child better than anyone, and what you’ve seen at home is the best place to begin. When you reach out, we’ll ask what’s been happening, how long it has been going on, and what you’ve already tried, and then suggest which of our therapists fits your child’s age and concerns.
For most families, the first visit is with you, the parent. You can talk freely about your child’s history, school, friendships, and family life, and ask anything you want about how sessions will work. Your child usually joins after that.
As you compare child therapists, ask three questions:
- What training do you have with children and families? Family therapy training teaches clinicians to see a child’s struggles in the context of home, school, and friendships.
- How will I stay informed? Expect a clear plan for regular check-ins.
- What if my child doesn’t connect with you? Your child needs to feel comfortable talking, and you need to feel good about the plan.
Jan
Savannah
When Should a Child or Teen See a Therapist?
Every child has hard weeks, and many worries fade on their own. Consider reaching out when a change lasts more than a few weeks, keeps growing, or starts to crowd out school, friendships, sleep, or family life.
Sleep is worth mentioning when you call. In a U.S. study of more than 10,000 children followed from late childhood into early adolescence, those whose sleep got worse showed the biggest rise in emotional and behavioral symptoms, and those whose sleep improved showed fewer.
If your child or teen may be in danger, call 911. For thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Therapy for Kids Ages 5 to 12
Savannah Jennings sees kids as young as 5. Kids this age are still building the vocabulary for what they feel, so with younger children most of the work includes parents, and often the whole family. Emotional control is still developing at this age, so sessions build those skills a step at a time.
Play-Based Sessions
Games, drawing, and hands-on activities let a child show what they can’t yet say, and practice calming down and naming feelings.
Big Feelings and Behavior
Tantrums, defiance, or tears over small things often have worry or frustration underneath. Kids learn to read those feelings, and parents learn steady responses.
School Stress and ADHD Frustration
Falling grades, calls home, or daily ADHD frustration. Savannah helps kids build confidence and organization skills, and helps parents work with teachers on accommodations.
For a child younger than 5, we’ll help you find a clinician who works with toddlers and preschoolers.
Teen Therapy and Teen Counseling in Charleston (Ages 13–17)
The teen years bring their own mix of pressure: school, friendships, dating, changing bodies, and big questions about who they are. Teen counseling gives a young person space to sort through it with an adult on their side. Both of our therapists work with teens and adolescents: Jan Stone Allen sees teens 13 and older, usually as part of work that includes their parents, and Savannah Jennings works with teens as well.
A relationship of their own
A teen’s connection with their therapist matters, so we take care with the match. If you’re a teen reading this, you’ll help decide what your sessions focus on, and if the fit doesn’t feel right, you can say so.
What stays private
Teens often worry about who will find out what they say. In a review of 144 studies, fear of others finding out was the concern people named most often when stigma kept them from mental health care, and young people were among those most affected. So at the start, the therapist sets ground rules with your teen and with you about what stays private and what gets shared with parents. Safety concerns are shared.
What teens bring to counseling
Anxiety and stress, low mood, low self-esteem, anger that boils over, school pressure, conflict at home, friendship and dating troubles, and figuring out who they are. Teens build coping skills for their hardest moments, in person in Mount Pleasant or online.
Support for Parents and Co-Parents
Helping a struggling child wears on parents, especially when the adults at home can’t agree on what to do. Parents are part of this work at every age.
The first session is usually just you
Bring anything that helps paint the picture, like a recent report card or notes on when the hard moments tend to happen. The therapist uses that visit to plan how to begin with your child or teen, and parents can keep meeting with the therapist on their own as the work goes on.
Parenting and co-parenting counseling
Separated parents can work on keeping rules consistent across two homes, and any parent can get help with routines, discipline, or working with teachers.
When family therapy makes more sense
Sometimes the struggle belongs to the whole household: constant sibling conflict, a divorce or remarriage, or a shared loss. Then family therapy, with several family members in the room, may be the place to start.
What Kids and Teens Come to Therapy For
These concerns look different in an 8-year-old than in a 16-year-old.
Anxiety and Worry
An 8-year-old may get a stomachache every school morning or start skipping sleepovers. In teens, worry can look like perfectionism or panic before tests.
When worries need help →Low Mood
A child who loved soccer now calls it boring, or snaps at everyone after school. In kids and teens, depression often looks different than in adults.
Signs of childhood depression →Grief and Loss
The death of a grandparent, parent, friend, or pet. Kids often grieve in bursts; our guide to grief in childhood covers how to talk about death.
The three C's of childhood grief →School Stress
Homework battles, test nerves, or a rough move to middle or high school. We help kids and parents make a plan that includes the school.
Back-to-school anxiety →Anger and Outbursts
A small no sets off a blowup that takes an hour to cool down. Sessions focus on spotting the early warning signs, with a plan parents can use in the moment.
Self-Esteem
Harsh self-talk, constant comparison with friends or with what they see online, or giving up before trying. Sessions help kids and teens catch that inner critic and talk back to it more fairly.
Child and Teen Counseling in Mount Pleasant and Across Charleston
Family therapists with school experience
Our therapists draw on family systems thinking, a person-centered foundation, and practical skills from cognitive behavioral therapy, with play-based sessions for kids 5 to 12. Savannah Jennings, a marriage and family therapist associate (LMFTA), spent nearly four years as the school counselor at a Montessori school on Wadmalaw Island. Jan Stone Allen, a licensed marriage and family therapist, was Director of Guidance at Mason Preparatory School in Charleston.
In person in Mount Pleasant, online in North Charleston and across South Carolina
Younger children meet their therapist in person at 913 Bowman Road in Mount Pleasant, near Daniel Island and downtown Charleston, with parking in the lot in front of the office. Teens and parents in North Charleston, Summerville, or farther inland can skip the drive with online therapy, and teens can switch between video and in-person visits as schedules change.
Parents often ask what to say before their child’s first session. Keep it short and calm: they’ll meet someone whose job is helping kids with worries and big feelings. Teens usually appreciate a say in choosing their therapist.
Your Mount Pleasant Child and Teen Therapists
Kids 5 to 12 see Savannah, and teens can see either therapist. Tell us about your child, and we’ll recommend where to start.