Maybe your child isn't acting like themselves. Maybe your teen has stopped talking to you. Maybe school, friendships, emotions, or behavior have become harder than they used to be.
You don't have to know whether this is “just a phase” before asking for help. Darrell Ring, LPC works with children, teens, and their caregivers to understand what is happening, build practical skills, and create healthier patterns at home and in everyday life.
Childhood and adolescence naturally include mood changes, conflict, stress, and growing independence. Not every difficult season means something is seriously wrong.
But when a change persists, keeps getting worse, affects several parts of life, or leaves your child struggling to function the way they normally do, it may be worth taking a closer look.
You don't have to diagnose your child before bringing your concerns to a counselor.
Excessive worry, perfectionism, panic, avoiding situations, physical complaints, or always needing reassurance.
Pulling away from family or friends, losing interest in things they used to enjoy, low energy, sadness, irritability, or seeming flat.
Academic pressure, perfectionism, difficulty concentrating, overwhelm, avoidance, or changes in school performance.
Frequent conflict, anger, outbursts, difficulty recovering from frustration, or behavior that has become difficult to manage at home or school.
Friendship problems, bullying, social anxiety, loneliness, rejection, or difficulty feeling like they fit in.
Divorce, moves, loss, family conflict, changing schools, illness, or another transition that has been difficult to absorb.
Maybe you asked to come. Maybe your parent suggested it. Maybe you really don't want to be here.
You don't have to show up excited about therapy. You don't need a speech prepared. And you don't have to spend the whole hour making eye contact while someone asks, “So how does that make you feel?”
Darrell's goal is to have an actual conversation with you about the things that matter in your life.
Sometimes the work is understanding emotions. Sometimes it's practicing a skill. Sometimes it's changing a pattern at home, thinking differently about a problem, or figuring out what to do when life gets hard.
Darrell can help kids and teens understand anxious thoughts and physical reactions and develop healthier ways to respond to worry, stress, and uncertainty.
Counseling can create space to explore sadness, irritability, withdrawal, low self-worth, loss of motivation, or feeling disconnected from life.
Sometimes children communicate distress through anger, arguments, shutting down, impulsive behavior, or intense reactions. Counseling can help identify what is happening underneath the behavior.
Kids and teens may need help navigating friendships, family conflict, divorce, grief, major transitions, bullying, or other experiences that have changed how life feels.
Darrell adapts counseling to the young person's age, personality, developmental level, and reason for coming in.
Younger children may not have the vocabulary or attention span for an hour of adult-style conversation. Sessions may include drawing, play, simple activities, stories, or other age-appropriate ways of helping a child express and understand what they're experiencing.
Teen counseling usually looks much more like a real conversation. Darrell listens, asks questions, helps identify patterns, and works with the teen on concerns that are actually relevant to their life.
The process is designed to give parents useful input while also giving the child or teen enough space to build a real counseling relationship.
Counseling with minors generally begins with a parent or guardian intake. You'll share your concerns, relevant history, what you've observed, and what you hope will change.
Darrell focuses first on building trust, understanding how the young person sees the situation, and helping them become comfortable with the counseling process.
Darrell identifies treatment goals, determines how parents should remain involved, and recommends next steps based on the child's age, needs, and circumstances.
Not every detail.
For counseling to be useful, children and especially teens need enough privacy to talk honestly. At the same time, parents and guardians have important responsibilities and legal rights related to their child's care.
Darrell works to balance both. In ordinary practice, he may discuss themes, progress, recommendations, and information parents need in order to support treatment without turning each session into a transcript for the parent.
If a significant safety concern arises, Darrell takes the steps needed to protect the child or teen and involves parents or others as required.
A child may behave very differently at school, at home, with friends, and in the counseling office. Sometimes information from another setting helps clarify what is happening.
When appropriate and with the necessary written consent, Darrell may coordinate with other people involved in your child's care.
The goal is not to create a committee around your child. It's to share useful information when coordination would genuinely improve care.
Use the secure client portal to request an appointment and briefly describe what you're hoping your child or teen can get help with.
Once the appointment is accepted, SimplePractice will send the required consent and background forms. Complete these before the first appointment so session time can focus on counseling.
Darrell starts by gathering enough information from the family and young person to understand the concerns and decide what treatment should focus on first.
Darrell Ring Counseling accepts HealthChoice insurance. Families with other insurance plans may still be able to use out-of-network benefits through a superbill.
Your specific coverage and member responsibility depend on your individual plan and the services provided.
Some difficult behaviors and emotions are temporary parts of development. Others deserve a closer look.
Counseling may be worth considering when concerns persist, intensify, significantly affect home, school, friendships, or daily functioning, or simply leave you unsure how to help.
You don't have to determine the answer by yourself before requesting an evaluation.
Young people vary widely in how they feel about starting therapy. Some ask for help. Others are skeptical, anxious, embarrassed, or frustrated that a parent made the appointment.
Darrell does not expect a child or teen to arrive enthusiastic about counseling. Building enough trust for honest participation is part of the early work.
No. Darrell does not ordinarily give parents a play-by-play of every counseling conversation. Young people need enough privacy to speak honestly.
Parents still remain important participants in their child's care. Darrell may share themes, progress, recommendations, and information relevant to safety or treatment.
He explains confidentiality and its limits at the beginning so both parents and teens understand how the process works.
Sometimes. With younger children, having a parent present for part of an early session may help the child feel comfortable.
Other sessions may involve the child or teen individually, the parent alone, or family members together. The mix depends on age, treatment goals, and what is likely to be most useful.
Yes. Parent involvement is often an important part of child and adolescent counseling.
Darrell may ask for updates, offer strategies for home, recommend parent-only check-ins, or involve family members in sessions when doing so supports treatment.
When it would be clinically useful and the appropriate written consent has been provided, Darrell may coordinate with teachers, school counselors, medical providers, or other professionals involved in your child's care.
Collaboration is used when it supports the child's treatment, not automatically for every client.
Darrell's regular counseling services are primarily in person in Enid.
Telehealth may be available for established clients in limited circumstances when meeting in person is not possible and online treatment is clinically appropriate. It is not the best fit for every child or teen.
Progress depends on the concern and the goals established for treatment. It might look like fewer outbursts, better coping, returning to activities, less avoidance, more effective communication, improved school functioning, or greater ability to manage difficult emotions.
Darrell can discuss progress and recommendations with parents while still maintaining an appropriate counseling space for the young person.
Darrell provides counseling from his office in downtown Enid.
Appointments are scheduled through the secure client portal.
Maybe your child is clearly struggling. Maybe your teen insists they're fine. Maybe you're simply seeing enough little changes that your gut keeps telling you to pay attention.
Start by telling Darrell what you've noticed. You can decide what makes sense from there.
Secure scheduling through the client portal