Child Therapy in Colts Neck, NJ

Children experience the full spectrum of human emotion — but they do not yet have the language, the context, or the emotional tools to understand and express what they are feeling. When a child is struggling, it often shows up not in words but in behavior — in tantrums, withdrawal, school refusal, clinginess, or a sudden change in the child you know so well. These are not signs of a bad child. They are signs of a child who needs support.

At Dr. Dana Spada Psychotherapy, we provide a warm, safe, and genuinely child-centered space where children can explore their inner world in the way that feels most natural to them — through play, through art, through conversation, and through the simple, powerful experience of feeling truly heard.

Dr. Spada specializes in supporting children through a wide range of emotional and behavioral challenges, including:

• Anxiety & Worry: Separation anxiety, social anxiety, school anxiety, and generalized childhood worry
• Depression & Low Mood: Persistent sadness, withdrawal, or loss of interest in play and activities
• Behavioral Challenges: Tantrums, defiance, aggression, or difficulty following rules at home or school
• Trauma & Adverse Childhood Experiences: Processing difficult or traumatic events in a safe, age-appropriate way
• Family Transitions: Divorce, separation, a new sibling, relocation, or changes in family structure
• Grief & Loss: Supporting children through the death of a loved one, a pet, or another significant loss
• Social Difficulties: Trouble making or keeping friends, bullying, or navigating peer relationships
• ADHD & Neurodivergence: Supporting children who learn, feel, and experience the world differently
• Low Self-Esteem: Building confidence, self-worth, and a healthy sense of identity
• School Refusal: Addressing the anxiety or emotional roots of resistance to attending school

Dr. Spada understands that children cannot always sit across from a therapist and talk about their feelings the way adults do — and she does not expect them to. Her approach meets each child exactly where they are, using modalities that feel natural, safe, and even enjoyable.

Her integrative approach uses Play Therapy to allow children to express and process their emotional world through the natural language of play, Art Therapy to provide a creative, non-verbal outlet for big feelings and experiences, CBT adapted for children to gently identify and reframe unhelpful thought patterns, Somatic Therapy to help children reconnect with their bodies and regulate their nervous systems, and Mindfulness practices adapted for young minds to build emotional awareness and self-regulation.