Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children in Denver, Arvada, & Lakewood, CO

CBT for children with big emotions.

Now accepting Colorado Medicaid clients!

“You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation”

- Plato

You may be feeling totally overwhelmed by your child’s emotional needs and like the behaviors they are showing you now will never shift, and we are here to help.

When it comes to kiddos, we specialize in working with emotional, sensitive and gifted children ages 2- 12 who are experiencing big feelings of anger, sadness, or anxiety. We often offer specific expertise in supporting children process traumatic events.

We also support sensitive teenagers struggling with issues of self esteem, identity development, and relationship to Self & Other.

If you’re ready to feel more connected to your child and bring your family closer together, schedule a consultation today.

Schedule your free consult

Our approach to CBT for Children

As child therapists in the Denver area, we use play therapy to help children express what they often can’t put into words. Through carefully guided play, your child can safely explore big feelings, process challenges, and begin to heal at their own pace.
We use both directive and non-directive, evidence-based approaches to support children in:
- Processing difficult life experiences
- Understanding their emotions
- Building confidence and resilience
When children feel truly seen and supported, meaningful change happens—not just for them, but for the entire family.
That’s why we don’t just work with your child, we work with you, too.
- Parent check-ins at every session
- 10 minutes of dedicated parenting support included
- Ongoing communication about themes emerging in therapy
- Practical tools you can use at home right away
We believe parents are the most important part of a child’s emotional world. To help you feel more confident and equipped, we offer:
- Guidance to better understand your child’s needs
- Tools to navigate overwhelming emotions (yours and theirs)
- Access to our TUNED IN parenting course, designed to support parents of highly sensitive children
Taking this step can feel big—we get that. Our role is to walk alongside you, helping you make sense of what your child is experiencing and showing you how to respond in ways that truly help.
Together, we’ll work toward:
- Greater emotional understanding
- Small but meaningful shifts at home
- More ease, connection, and harmony for your family

Reach Out for More Information

Our 12-Week Child Therapy & Parent Coaching Program

Unlike traditional therapy models that often continue indefinitely, Rooted Rhythm offers a structured 12-week therapy process designed to foster meaningful progress within a clear and supportive timeline.

The Program Includes:

1. Parent Orientation

After an initial free consultation, we schedule a 50-minute intake session with parents only. This is your opportunity to share your child’s story, ask questions, and learn more about our therapeutic approach. For separated or divorced parents, we recommend separate 50-minute sessions.

2. Weekly Play Therapy Sessions for Your Child

Over the course of 12 weeks, your child will meet in-person weekly with a Rooted Rhythm therapist for 50-minute sessions. The final 10 minutes of each session are dedicated to parent updates, coaching, and insights.

3. Parenting Support

Throughout your child’s therapeutic journey, we offer multiple ways for parents to grow alongside their child:

Free access to our TUNED IN Parenting Course
10min of parent coaching and guidance at the end of each child therapy session
Individual parent coaching sessions as needed at an additional cost

4. Parent Closing Session & Ongoing Support

At the end of the 12 weeks, we hold a 50-minute session with parents to review your child’s progress, celebrate growth, and create a sustainable plan moving forward.

Families who complete our 12-week process become part of the Rooted Rhythm community. If families decide to continue therapy after the 12 week process, we are happy to continue seeing your child for as long as needed.

“Rooted Rhythm was a game changer for us! We needed someone to help us navigate parenting our oldest son, who is 5 years old, who we learned is highly sensitive. We started sessions with Sophie and instantly felt a connection and her support for us and our son! We honestly noticed such a positive difference after working with Sophie to think about our son’s behaviors differently and learn how to support him as a highly sensitive child!
We would 100% recommend Rooted Rhythm to anybody looking for support parenting highly sensitive children!”
- Parents of 3 Boys
“The therapeutic work this team does for sensitive children and their parents is rooted and true. I didn’t know much about play therapy prior to learning about Rooted Rhythm, but I now understand the incredible power of this modality for children to process their feelings. What sets this practice apart from others is their focus on supporting parents just as much as their kids on the learning and healing journey....which ensures a big step towards more wellness for the whole family. I absolutely trust and recommend this team to any family looking for emotional support.”
— Mother of a 10 year old
“Our 6 year old son was getting in trouble at school, melting down all the time and struggling very much with life’s challenges. We realized that he had very big feelings, a lot of anxiety and self-doubt, and our inability to help him was creating a stressful home.
We met with Rooted Rhythm for a consultation and knew they would be able to help us.
Their methods of parent coaching via the online course and live meetings are rooted in research and education, and the play therapy is effective and personal to each child. Rooted Rhythm changed the trajectory of our family and has given us the skills to continue to build a stronger family.”
— Mother of a 6 year old boy
"Rooted Rhythm changed everything for our family. We went from daily meltdowns and power struggles to feeling connected and in sync. The tools were simple but so powerful—and the support was unwavering."
- Parent of a 4 year old
"As a parent of a neurodivergent child, I often felt lost. Rooted Rhythm gave me a language of connection and a framework that honors who my child is—and who I am as a parent."
- Dad of a 7-year-old
“Our 4-year-old was having trouble working through his really big feelings, and my husband and I felt confused about how to help him. Rooted Rhythm therapy helped us identify his challenges and how we could support him. Our son has gained self-confidence and we have gained clarity and confidence as parents. Sophie is an absolutely wonderful person and held space for our family to find our rhythm. So grateful!”
- Mother of a 4 year old boy
“Rooted Rhythm therapy has helped our family a lot. When we had an orientation, she told my wife and me that the therapy would be limited to 12 sessions. I appreciated that very much. It made me feel like there was a process vs. just going in open-ended. We tried it, and the end result is a better relationship with our kids and each other. If she thinks that she can help your family, I'm sure that she can. Highly recommend!”
- J.M., Father of two
“I found Rooted Rhythm one day in a frantic google search for a therapist for my 8 year old son. He is smart, funny and has the biggest emotions of anyone I know. He was getting in trouble at school, testing boundaries at home and experienced his feelings in outburst that sometimes would last over an hour. Our other biggest struggle was connecting on parenting.
Sophie was the perfect fit for our family during our time of soul searching. Not only did it give our son a safe place to not only talk and express himself but to just... be. The bonus was the parenting course. It has given us as parents a base to start with; common ground to build on instead of one of ‘always being right.’ We gained so many tools for the future not just for our highly sensitive son but our sassy independent daughter as well.”
- Mother of an 8 year old boy
“The Rooted Rhythm child therapy and parent coaching method for sensitive children and their parents is innovative, highly effective, and deeply healing. The founder, Sophie, has put years of research and experience into developing a unique model (with in person child therapy sessions and virtual parent education) that tangibly shifts families from the inside out.
As another therapist, the Rooted Rhythm team is absolutely my number one referral for anyone seeking support to become a better parent to emotional children. It’s so exciting to know the Dallas community will now have access to this method of child therapy and parent coaching care.”
- Julie Goldberg LPC, Third Nature Therapy
“As a therapist and colleague, I regularly refer clients to Rooted Rhythm for both parent coaching and play therapy. I trust them completely. They are trauma-informed, highly skilled, and compassionate therapists who create real change in their clients’ lives.”
- Kirsten Hartz LPC, Somatic Therapist
“The model of child counseling paired with parent coaching was excellent for us. We are in a happier, healthier, more regulated state of mind thanks to Rooted Rhythm.”
-Happy client
“Thank you Rooted Rhythm for an unforgettable experience growing, learning, and finding our rhythm together.
Elana Cohen, you are the best of the best; with such care, humanity, and kindness you guided us from 3rd grade storminess to a thriving 4th grade. The tools you taught our "sweet D" have become family treasures that we all keep in our daily routines. From this vantage point I can barely begin to understand the value of a 9 year old having such clarity on mental health and overcoming moments of overwhelm.
Rooted Rhythm, you run such a professional operation that businesses of all kinds should take notice. It's so very special what you do for our COMMUNITY.”
- Parent of 4th grader

CBT for Children FAQs

CBT helps children understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. In therapy, we use age-appropriate techniques—like games, visuals, and simple exercises—to teach children how to recognize unhelpful thinking patterns and replace them with more helpful ones, leading to healthier emotional responses and behaviors.
CBT is highly effective for a range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, ADHD-related challenges, behavioral issues, low self-esteem, and difficulty managing emotions. It’s especially helpful for children who feel overwhelmed, stuck in negative thinking, or struggle to cope with everyday stressors.
In addition to the parenting support that you will receive at the end of every child therapy session and the optional weekly group parent learning call available if you are enrolled in the TUNED course,, some parents choose to set up additional 1-1 parent support sessions. Parent support sessions include helpful information on child development and attachment behaviors relevant to the patterns that your child is showing. They also provide tools to be more comfortable facing overwhelming emotions so that you can teach your child to do the same!
Parenting has a beautiful way of showing you absolutely all of your blindspots! We are passionate about helping parents more deeply understand their parenting patterns and clear any blocks that prevent them from feeling confident to support their children with full consciousness and love.
Head on over to our team page to read the bios of our Denver and Lakewood expert child play therapists!

Schedule Your Free Consultation

Office Locations

Denver: 1777 South Harrison Street, Suite 1200 | Denver, CO 80210

Lakewood: 710 Kipling St, Suite 106, Lakewood, CO 80215

Arvada: 6275 Joyce Dr Suite 200 Arvada, CO 80403

Get help from our Expert Child Therapists in Denver, Arvada & Lakewood, CO

Your child deserves to enjoy their life...and you deserve to enjoy parenting your child! We are here to help you create more space for loving connection between you and your child. Reach out for a free child therapy consultation so that we can get started.

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