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General Mental Health

Home > General Mental Health

Our General Mental Health program focuses on treating issues including:

Adjustment to parental separation or blended family issues
Behavioral problems at home, school or within the community
Difficulty managing anger
Depression and anxiety
Parent/child conflict
Bullying

Individual and family counseling with one of our highly qualified therapists is the most common and effective approach in our General Mental Health Program, although group counseling may be utilized when deemed appropriate.

Our programs are designed not just to treat the child, but to strengthen and support the family unit as a whole so that the child’s progress is sustainable. We start by completing an assessment, identify a child’s needs, then devise an appropriate treatment plan.

We use a variety of age-appropriate treatment strategies during counseling, including traditional “talk” therapy, which allows for discussion and processing of events and emotions to gain a better understanding of behavior and to learn new coping skills.

We also frequently use play and art therapy with young children. This allows the child to express themselves through guided play or artwork and process issues through that medium. Our clinicians who utilize play therapy as a treatment modality are supervised by a registered play therapist supervisor to ensure quality and excellence.

We offer outpatient counseling services from locations in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, as well as virtually via telehealth.

Outpatient Locations

Tykes and Teens

Martin County

900 SE Ocean Blvd.

Building E, Suite 340
Stuart, FL 34994

3428 NE Sugar Hill Ave.

2nd Floor
Jensen Beach, FL 34957

8142 SE Federal Hwy.

Hobe Sound, FL 33455

St. Lucie County

451 SW Bethany Dr.

Ste. 101
Port St. Lucie, FL 34986

Indian River County

787 37th Street

Suite E260
Vero Beach, FL 32960

Timmy's Story

Timmy began seeing a therapist at Tykes & Teens after he was removed from an after school group for destroying their meeting place. At the age of six, Timmy had been physically abused by his father to the extent that his arm was broken. As a result of the abuse he suffered, Timmy engaged in hyperactive and destructive behavior and had difficulty responding to directions or expressing emotions.

One of the specific ways Timmy would act out was to take games, toys or puzzles and dump them on the floor in a haphazard manner without permission or warning. He would then spend time sorting and resorting the parts in various orders that had little relation to the toy or game. At home, Timmy would isolate from friends and play video games for hours.

After several sessions of sorting and acting out angry scenarios in play therapy, Timmy’s therapist asked him when he first realized he liked to organize and he answered: “The day my dad threw a chair through the window.”

Since beginning therapy, Timmy has steadily let go of the sorting and has been making friends and socializing with his peers. He has also learned more effective ways to channel anger. Recently, during a baseball game Timmy was called out by the referee and felt it was unfair. “You know what I did?” Timmy told the therapist. “I got so mad that the next time I was up, I hit a home run.”

*Name has been changed to protect client confidentiality.

In Her Own Words - Maria's Story

Being in counseling with Tykes & Teens has definitely had a positive impact on my life. Last year, when I started therapy with Kelly, I was feeling really lost. I didn’t have a positive relationship with my parents and was practically raising my little sister. It seemed as though I was being stretched in so many directions, and I wanted to break. One of the things that counseling has helped me with is realizing that there is someone in my corner in life. When I go to see Kelly, I feel as though she supports me and listens when there aren’t many other people that I can count on.

One of the biggest things that happened to me this year was that I dropped out of the first week of school. My parents supported the decision because both of them had dropped out, and my school counselor signed the paperwork without trying to talk me out of it. Kelly was the only one who asked me to reconsider. In counseling, we talked about why this might not be a good idea, and how graduating might help me reach bigger goals. Every week she would ask me to reconsider and encourage me to take ownership of my future.

Even though I wasn’t in school anymore, Kelly was willing to see me. That meant a lot. About four weeks after leaving school, I had a surprise for Kelly during my therapy session. That morning, I went up to the high school to re-enroll. It was awesome telling her and seeing her be excited for me. Since starting classes again I feel a lot better about myself. I have decided that I am worth investing in.

Counseling has taught me that someone cares about me, that I can choose how I feel based on my experiences and that goal-setting for the future is important. I still have plenty of difficult days, but I am thankful to have counseling to help me.

*Name has been changed to protect client confidentiality.