Kids/Teens Sessions
A Biblically-sound therapeutic space for boys & girls 9+
Faren helps kids/teens who:
Have experienced divorce/separation of their parents
Have behavioural issues at home or school
Are neurodivergent
Struggle with depression, anxiety, loneliness, or attachment issues
Have been bullied and/or struggle with low self esteem and identity issues
Struggle to open up or want to improve their communication and/or public performance.
Have low self-esteem and low self-confidence
Want to learn to engage their strengths, need vocational/study guidance
Need help with reading/learning strategies
Are engaging in self-harm or other destructive behaviours
Have experienced trauma or loss and have already received immediate support but could benefit from long-term treatment
Faren integrates TELEO software in her work with children and teens. However, parents have the option—indicated on the intake form—to choose the therapeutic approach they feel best suits their child. Options include digital tools like TELEO, hands-on arts and crafts, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), or traditional talk therapy.
How Virtual Kids/Teens Sessions Work:
Faren uses a blended approach that integrates parent involvement with interactive, faith-aware therapy, ensuring effective, engaging care for your child or teen.
Prior to the initial session, parents/guardians must complete an intake form/assessment, helping Faren understand what brings your child to therapy and allowing you to note specific preferences for the approach taken with your child.
In virtual sessions, Faren engages your child/teen’s unique inner world, skillfully exploring their interests and building rapport-then transitions into a focused 30-45 minute, age-appropriate therapeutic session aimed at helping them open up, feel supported, heal, and grow into who God created them to be.
Successful therapy for children and teens relies on the involvement of their caregivers. Because children thrive or struggle in connection to their home and learning environments, Faren offers parents the option of ongoing, faith-informed support between sessions via a secure messaging portal. Here, she provides summaries (with interventions, plans, and key observations), along with recommendations and resources, while still honouring your child’s confidentiality and trust.
Parent or caregiver consults (up to 20 minutes weekly) are offered at no extra cost for children under 13, and for older teens with their consent. These may be booked under the “Consultation” section of the booking portal.
Faren uses both specialized and integrative approaches with techniques drawn from Interactive Digital Art and Play Therapy, Narrative Play Therapy, Bibliotherapy, Experiential Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, EMDR, CBT, and DBT—guided by biblical values, wisdom, and a Christ-centered view of healing.
Questions?
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Faren has over 15 years experience in working with children, beginning her journey at 17 years-old in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, caring for abandoned infants, she pursued a Level 4 Child Psychology course before obtaining her degrees. Her experience spans working with children aged 3 months to 18 years old in formal educational settings, churches, non-profits, as well as in private home settings in South Africa, Canada, the USA, and Bolivia.
Faren is experienced in addressing sensitive family issues such as terminal illness, divorce, abuse, and addictions. Faren has supported children with special needs, including ADHD, selective mutism, autism, FASD, down syndrome, and more.
She has worked as a nanny, a mentor, and a homeschooling teacher for kids/teens from various backgrounds. With over seven years of experience in formal educational settings, including 5-years of teaching and assisting second and third-language learners at Creative Education Center in South Africa, she has collaborated closely with single parents, blended families, and families facing difficult challenges.
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Faren collaborates closely with parents, while working from a Christian foundation that respects each family’s unique worldview and belief system. A thorough intake process—preceded by a comprehensive form—invites parents to outline their moral, religious, and value-based preferences. Faren is committed to aligning her therapeutic approach with biblical truth and the family's values, ensuring children are guided by the convictions of their home, not by shifting cultural norms.
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Virtual play therapy is an interactive low-stimulus approach that uses specialized digital software to help younger children learn, process, and heal through engaging means including art, play, and storytelling. She also works with older teens to open up about their experiences and receive appropriate guidance and support through art-based therapies related to music and literature.
Delivered via secure video conferencing, Faren guides your child/teen in conversation and creative exercises tailored to their goals, interests, and developmental needs, building resilience and effective coping skills—all from the comfort of their home.
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Choosing between regular therapy and EMDR for your child/teen depends on their specific needs and how they engage in therapeutic settings.
EMDR is more focused on targeted healing from trauma and/or anxiety, grief, and depression, whereas regular therapy is best-suited for cultivating motivation, behavioral modification, emotional development and coping skills, improving communication, and character building.
Regular therapy and EMDR sessions can be alternated or used in a hybrid approach and parents are encouraged to select their preferences on the intake form.
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Faren offers both regular therapy and EMDR sessions at the same rate for kids/teens to ensure that families can choose the most suitable, evidence-based approach without financial constraints influencing their decision.
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Child/teen sessions are focussed on the therapist’s interactions with your child. Faren uses the therapeutic relationship to make psychological observations, provide psychoeducation or age-appropriate psychological interventions, and to help implement new learning and coping strategies for your child/teen to improve their life.
It is best to book a family session if you’d like to mainly focus on improving your relationship with your child, or your child’s relationship with your family or a specific member thereof, through blended interactive sessions - which focus on your parenting style of choice, as well as modelling successful interactions through relationship-focussed interventions and exercises.
2025 Pricing:
$45.00 CAD for an initial session and $90.00 CAD per follow-up session, discount packages are available for existing clients.
Faren is experienced in using EMDR virtually and utilizes the S.A.F.E. approach. She has completed various accredited certificates in EMDR that are EMDRIA-approved, including, but not limited to, EMDR for children.
