100 Therapy Questions for Kids and Teens: A Therapist’s List

Parents, did you know that research shows that early conversations about mental health can significantly impact your child’s well-being? According to a 2021 study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and a 2016 publication on the impact of stress on adolescents’ brain, children who are educated about mental health from an early age tend to exhibit better emotional regulation and resilience.

Working with a counselor can give you and your child a structured foundation to address these topics proactively. Counseling can help parents mitigate the risks of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. These are mental health challenges that can impact parents and kids.

Research shows that conversations about mental health can positively impact kids. This includes talking to your child about normalizing mental health and working to make it easier for your child to express their feelings and seek help when needed.

Did you know that counseling offers numerous benefits for children and teens?

Allowing your child to work with a counselor can help them learn how to develop healthy coping skills, create a support system, and learn the building blocks of emotional intelligence. Simply put, counseling can help your child learn to love and value themselves.

Common reasons parents seek counseling for their child:

• To develop better emotional regulation skills.
• To learn resilience.
• Understand how to express their thoughts and feelings.
• Gain skills aimed to help with reducing stress and anxiety.
• To improve communication skills.
• Improve self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Focus In the classroom.
• To improve time management and organization skills.

How to Use This List 

This is a working list of 100 mental health and therapy questions for children and teenagers. You will find 50 for younger kids (ages 5–12) and another 50 questions for teens (ages 13–19). Some are conversation starters for parents. We hope that you enjoy those. Some are questions therapists actually use in sessions. All are open-ended, developmentally attuned, and designed to build real dialogue instead of the “how was school?” / “fine” loop most conversations get stuck in.

A few operating principles before you dive in:

• Match the question to the moment. A car ride is a great place for deeper questions with a teen. Lunch or dinner is better for lighter ones with a kid. Bedtime tends to unlock both.
• Ask, then wait. Silence is a therapeutic tool. This is something that we at Santos Counseling often use and find very effective. Children and teens often need the pause to actually answer.
• Don’t fix, don’t lecture, don’t turn the answer into a report card. Kids and teens shut down instantly when they sense the conversation is a setup.
• Skip what doesn’t fit. A good question for one child is a bad question for another, and the same question can land differently on different days.

100 Questions to Discuss with Your Child (Ages 5–12)

Remember, teens are not smaller kids. They’re developing their own self. This means that they are learning more about who they are and developing their identity, values, and independence. And the questions that work with them look different. These 50 questions are drawn from what actually works in sessions with adolescents. Parents can use them. So can therapists.

1. Questions For Getting to Know Each Other Better (1–10)

1. What was the best part of your day today?
2. What made you smile today?
3. What are four things you’re grateful for?
4. What has been your favorite family tradition?
5. Tell me about a time you felt really proud of yourself.
6. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
7. What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn?
8. Who is someone you admire and why?
9. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
10. What’s one thing I may not know about you?

2. Questions For Everyday Conversations (11–20)

11. What was the hardest part of your day?
12. Who made you laugh today?
13. What song have you been listening to lately?
14. What’s a funny video or meme you want to show me?
15. If you had no homework tonight, what would you do?
16. What’s something that surprised you today?
17. What did you eat today, and was it good?
18. What made this week better?
19. If today had a title, what would it be?
20. What’s something you’re looking forward to?

3. Life Skills and Responsibility Questions (21–30)

21. What do you think being responsible means?
22. How do you feel about managing money?
23. Would you like to learn more about saving and budgeting?
24. Why is kindness important?
25. How do you make good decisions when you’re with friends?
26. What study habits work best for you?
27. Which chores do you think are most important?
28. What role do you think you play in our family?
29. What life skill would you like to learn next?
30. How do you know when you’ve made a good decision?

4. Questions For Building Confidence (31–40)

31. What are five things you like about yourself?
32. What’s one strength you have?
33. How do you respond to compliments?
34. What accomplishment makes you most proud?
35. What’s something new you’d like to try?
36. Tell me about a time you were brave.
37. What do you do when you doubt yourself?
38. How can I help build your confidence?
39. What positive words describe you?
40. What’s one challenge you’ve overcome?

5. Parent-Child Relationship Questions (41–50)

41. How would you like us to spend more time together?
42. What’s something you wish I understood?
43. When do you feel closest to me?
44. What helps you feel heard?
45. How can I become a better listener?
46. What’s something you’d like to teach me?
47. How do you feel about our family rules?
48. What boundaries are important to you?
49. What’s one thing we do well together?
50. How can I support you better?

6. Mental Health and Emotions Driven Questions (51–60)

51. How have you really been doing lately?
52. What does feeling stuck feel like?
53. What do you do when you’re sad?
54. What usually makes you anxious?
55. What helps you calm down?
56. How do you work through difficult emotions?
57. How do you see yourself?
58. What does good mental health mean to you?
59. What helps you feel safe?
60. What makes you feel peaceful?

7. Deeper Emotional Check-ins Questions (61–70)

61. What’s something you’ve been thinking about?
62. What’s been weighing on your mind?
63. What’s a compliment you’ll never forget?
64. What’s a criticism that hurt?
65. When did you last feel proud?
66. When did you last cry?
67. What overwhelms you most?
68. What’s a difficult decision you’re making?
69. Is there something you want to tell me?
70. What do you wish adults understood?

8. Questions About Identity and Values (71–80)

71. What kind of person do you hope to become?
72. What matters most to you?
73. Who inspires you?
74. What’s a belief you’ve changed?
75. When do you feel most like yourself?
76. What’s stayed the same about you?
77. What cause do you care about?
78. What do you want to be remembered for?
79. What family tradition should continue?
80. What’s one tradition you’d change?

9. School, Friends, and the Future Questions (81–90)

81. Which subject do you enjoy most?
82. Is there a teacher who really understands you?
83. Who are your closest friends?
84. Has a friendship been difficult lately?
85. Has someone hurt your feelings recently?
86. How are you sleeping?
87. How stressed are you this week (1–10)?
88. What’s hardest about school?
89. What career interests you?
90. What’s something about the future that feels scary?

10. Therapy and Personal Growth Questions (91–100)

91. What comes to mind when you hear the word “therapy”?
92. How do you feel about talking with a counselor?
93. Have you ever thought about seeing a therapist?
94. What happens in your body when you feel anxious?
95. What helps when you’re feeling down?
96. What do you do when your thoughts become overwhelming?
97. If your best friend felt this way, what would you tell them?
98. What’s something you’ve been carrying for a long time?
99. What do you need from me today—advice, listening, or company?
100. What’s one thing you hope our family can improve together?

When Talking Isn’t Enough

Sometimes the answer to “how are you doing” is bigger than a conversation can hold. We are here as you need us. If a child or teen you love is showing signs of persistent struggle. Maybe they are withdrawing from things they used to enjoy, have mood changes lasting more than two weeks, self-harm, hopelessness, are overly anxious, or have changes in sleep, appetite, or functioning; a therapist can help.

Santos Counseling provides teen therapy in Greensboro, NC and children’s therapy in Greensboro, in English and Spanish. Sessions are available in person at our Greensboro office and online across North Carolina.

📞 336-663-6570  admin@santoscounseling.com

Schedule an appointment

If a child or teen is in crisis or expressing suicidal thoughts, don’t wait: call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), text “HOME” to 741741, or go to your nearest emergency room.

Frequently Asked Questions