CBT for Children A Parent’s Guide

As a parent with a child who’s struggling with their thoughts and feelings, you want to do everything you can to help them—but where do you start? CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) offers a structured, proven approach that’s easy to follow and can make a positive difference in your child’s life.

At Thrive Wellbeing Centre, we use the practical, evidence-based tools of CBT to help your child explore their feelings, improve their behaviour, and strengthen their coping skills for life.

What is CBT and How Does it Work?

CBT is a type of talk therapy where a trained therapist helps your child identify and change their unhelpful thoughts and behaviors using guided conversations, practical exercises, and problem-solving techniques. It’s especially effective because it’s goal-oriented and focused on helping your child learn skills they can use in everyday life.

For example, we’ll help your child identify their negative thoughts, understand how those thoughts affect their feelings and behaviors, and how they can work on replacing them with more helpful ways of thinking.

What Childhood and Teen Issues Can CBT Help Overcome?

CBT is a practical and adaptable approach that helps with many of the common challenges children face, from substance abuse to bullying and eating disorders.

Substance abuse

Often starting around 12 years of age, substance abuse becomes a way to cope with stress, trauma, or peer pressure. Using CBT, we help your child understand what’s driving their behavior and how to build healthier coping strategies.

Bedwetting

Bedwetting can result in low self-esteem and a lack of confidence, especially as your child grows older and becomes more aware of the issue. Using CBT, we help your child manage their anxiety, build positive routines, and develop a greater sense of control over their body and bedtime habits.

Self-harm

Self-harming behaviors are often a response to overwhelming emotional distress that your child doesn’t know how to express or manage. CBT offers a safe and supportive space where your child can explore their feelings, understand what’s driving their actions, and learn healthier ways to cope.

Bullying

Whether your child is being bullied or struggling with aggressive behavior themselves, CBT helps them unpack what’s happening and understand how to respond more constructively. It builds assertiveness, empathy, and self-control—skills that extend beyond the schoolyard.

Low Self-Esteem

When your child believes they’re not good enough, it can affect their confidence, friendships, and learning. CBT helps replace their negative thoughts with more balanced thinking, gradually building self-esteem through achievable goals and positive reinforcement.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Children with ODD often react with defiance, anger, or hostility toward authority figures. CBT helps them understand their triggers, learn how to pause before reacting, and practice more adaptive behaviors.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders in children can be deeply complex, often tied to thoughts around food, body image, and control. CBT is a well-established treatment that helps your child challenge these patterns and rebuild a healthier relationship with eating and self-worth.

Helping Your Child Move Forward

Many parents come to us after comparing this therapy with others, because they want something practical, structured, and suited to their child’s everyday challenges—and CBT offers precisely that.