WAC Counseling
WAC Counseling
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  • More
    • Home
    • About
      • Who We Are
      • What We Believe
    • Services
      • Women's Counseling
      • Family Counseling
      • Children's Counseling
      • Breastfeeding
    • Classes & Outreach
      • For The Community
      • For Professionals
    • Resources
      • Perinatal Depression
      • Perinatal Anxiety
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Bipolar Disorder
      • Perinatal PTSD
      • Perinatal Psychosis
      • Breastfeeding
      • Young Parenting
      • Pregnancy Loss
      • High-Risk Pregnancy
      • Single Parenting
      • Fathers
      • Infertility
      • Adoptive & Birth Parents
      • LGBTQ+ Parents
      • Birth Planning
      • Military Families
      • NICU Parents
      • Attachment
      • PSI Online Support Groups
    • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Believe
  • Services
    • Women's Counseling
    • Family Counseling
    • Children's Counseling
    • Breastfeeding
  • Classes & Outreach
    • For The Community
    • For Professionals
  • Resources
    • Perinatal Depression
    • Perinatal Anxiety
    • Perinatal OCD
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Perinatal PTSD
    • Perinatal Psychosis
    • Breastfeeding
    • Young Parenting
    • Pregnancy Loss
    • High-Risk Pregnancy
    • Single Parenting
    • Fathers
    • Infertility
    • Adoptive & Birth Parents
    • LGBTQ+ Parents
    • Birth Planning
    • Military Families
    • NICU Parents
    • Attachment
    • PSI Online Support Groups
  • Contact Us
Understanding Infant and Child Mental Health

Children Counseling

Mental health in infants and young children is about their capacity to form secure relationships, manage and express a full range of emotions, and explore and learn within the context of family, community, and culture. It's important to recognize that 10-16% of young children experience mental health conditions.

By acknowledging children's emotions, we are helping them learn skills for soothing themselves, skills that will serve them well for a lifetime.


John Gottman, Ph.D.

Assessment & Diagnosis

Assessment & Diagnosis

Assessment & Diagnosis

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Individual Counseling

Assessment & Diagnosis

Assessment & Diagnosis

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Attachment Work

Family Counseling

Family Counseling

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Family Counseling

Family Counseling

Family Counseling

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Children's Counseling focuses on kids with Mental Health issues such as -

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • ADHD
  • Emotional problems
  • Behavior issues
  • Loss of important people or pets
  • Stressful events (divorce, bullying, moving, chaning schools)
  • Difficulty with blending families

Counseling for your child can help them -

  • Work through their feelings
  • Develop emotional intelligence
  • Develop healthy coping skills
  • Develop better social skills
  • Promote healthy relationships
  • Learn how to create boundaries
  • Improve academic performance
  • Improve their self-esteem

Assessment & Diagnosis for Young Children (Under 5)

Understanding Infant & Child mental Health

Mental health in infants and young children is about their capacity to form secure relationships, manage and express a full range of emotions, and explore and learn within the context of family, community, and culture. It's important to recognize that 10-16% of young children experience mental health conditions.

DC:0-5™ Diagnostic Classification System

We are trained to use the DC:0–5™ Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood by The Alabama Department of Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health professionals. 

Definition: The DC 0-5 is a developmentally based system for diagnosing mental health disorders in infants, toddlers, and young children. 

Seeing issues with your child?

Whether it is a consultation session to collaborate with your pediatrician to make a diagnosis to qualify for additional services, or consultation and therapy for behavior issues at home, we would love to work with you & your family. Reach out to us to talk about the issues you are having, and we will help you decide if we can help. 

Individual Counseling for Children

Supporting Your Child Through Life’s Challenges

Life events can be overwhelming for children. If your child is struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, grief over a loss, bullying, or low self-esteem, know that there is hope.

Our Approach

In the first session, we meet with you and your child to discuss your concerns, explain the counseling process, and collaboratively set goals for treatment. If your child is comfortable, we’ll offer them a safe and secure place to talk privately about what’s bothering them. We use age-appropriate methods to help them manage their feelings, including art, play, and creative activities.

Involving Caregivers

Children learn by doing, and play is an essential part of therapy. We incorporate drawing, playing, and talking to help your child develop positive thought patterns and behaviors. As a caregiver, your involvement is crucial; we often invite you to participate in therapy to learn alongside your child, so you can support them at home. The most effective therapy happens when both child and caregiver are engaged in the learning and coping process outside of the office.

Strengthening Bonds through Attachment Based Therapy

What is Insecure Attachment?

For us to develop securely, we need a caregiver that responds to our needs consistently, and acts as a "secure base" for us to explore the world. When we do not have a consistent, reliable caregiver we usually develop what we call an insecure attachment. 

Explore Attachment Resources

Forty percent of children & adults have insecure attachment

Attachment-Based Therapy is -

  • Based on developing or rebuilding trust between child & caregiver 
  • Focuses on expressing emotions
  • Examines the child's early experiences with their caregivers,
  • Determines the child's ability to develop and form healthy relationships



  • Aims to build or rebuild trusting, supportive relationships
  • Involves both the caregiver and the child to strengthen the bond
  • Helps the child grow into a secure, self-sufficient adult
  • Strengthens relationships
  • Helps regulate emotions & change behaviors

Nurturing Mental Health from the Start


Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) is "the developing capacity of the infant/young child to form close and secure relationships; experience, manage, and express a full range of emotions; and explore the environment and learn—all in the context of family, community, and culture."


If you are wondering if attachment-based therapy will help your family, do not hesitate to contact us. We are happy to discuss the situation over the phone, and decide together if we can help.


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First 5 Alabama Members

We are proud members of First 5 Alabama, an organization committed to enhancing healthy attachment relationships between children from birth to age five and the adults who care for them. Learn more about them and their mission by visiting their website.


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Discover More About Your Attachment Style

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Florence, AL

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