Depression in Children--Treatment
2025.11.12
Hello, my name is Tatsuya Arakawa, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
In my previous blog post, I explained what childhood depression is.
This time, I would like to talk about how therapy can help.
Building Trust with the Child
Whether the client is a child or an adult, therapy cannot succeed without a foundation of trust. In fact, this therapeutic relationship itself makes up a large part of the healing process.
Having a trustworthy adult to talk to once a week.
Having a trustworthy adult who listens sincerely every week.
Having a trustworthy adult who does not say, “You must do this,” or “You can’t do that,” but simply stays by their side through difficult times.
When a child experiences this kind of support, they begin to feel:
“I want to try my best.”
“I can keep moving forward.”
“Even if I fail, I can get back up again.”
That sense of safety and trust is what allows healing and growth to begin.
Parents Also Need to Change
However, no matter how much a child grows or heals through therapy, there are things that the child alone cannot change—and one of those is the home environment.
Even if a therapist provides a warm and healing hour each week, the child still spends the rest of their time under their parents’ care.
In most cases, the main source of a child’s emotional distress lies within the family environment.
If that environment doesn’t change, even when the child improves through therapy, it is very likely that their symptoms will return over time.
Therefore, I also meet regularly with parents—not only with the child—to discuss how parents themselves can begin to change.
This doesn’t mean that everything about their parenting has been wrong. There are always positive aspects that should be continued.
At the same time, I help parents understand why certain areas need improvement and guide them through specific ways to make those changes.
By supporting both the child and the parents in this way, the ultimate goal of therapy is for the child to be able to say goodbye to the therapist and still live happily with their parents—with smiles and connection at home.
Tatsuya Arakawa, LMFT #82425
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist