Therapist vs. Life Skills Specialist: Who Does What at Cummins, and Why Your Child Might Work with Both
If your child receives services with Cummins, they will likely meet more than one mental health professional on their care team. Two titles you’ll see often are mental health therapist (or therapist for short) and life skills specialist (or LSS).
Therapists and LSSs both work with consumers to identify emotional challenges and change unhelpful behaviors. Because the two roles have some overlap with each other, consumers may sometimes be uncertain about who is responsible for what and why their child needs to work with both providers.
This post explains the major differences between therapists and LSSs at Cummins Behavioral Health, including how working with both can be beneficial to your treatment outcomes.
Watch: Cummins school-based therapist Madeleine Green, who formerly worked as an LSS, gives her perspective on how the two roles complement each other.
Two Specialties, One Team
Every provider your child may see during their time at Cummins has a specialized role in their care plan. These providers work together as a team, complementing each other’s skillsets to give your child the best care possible.
Therapists excel at getting to the “why” behind your child’s challenges, helping them process emotions, and teaching them about important mental health concepts. For example, your child’s therapist might:
- Help your child understand what they’re experiencing and how their symptoms, thoughts, and emotions connect
- Guide processing of difficult experiences (e.g. trauma work) in a way that is tailored to age and developmental level
- Assess your child’s health risks, track their treatment progress, and coordinate their care with schools, physicians, and other supports
- Introduce recovery tools your child can use and explain why they matter for their treatment goals
Life skills specialists are great at helping your child implement new behaviors to manage their symptoms. Think of this as helping them with the “how” of their recovery. This might look like:
- Teaching and rehearsing concrete skills for calming, focusing, frustration tolerance, socializing, organization, and more
- Providing coaching in real-world environments like the classroom, at home, or in community settings
- Partnering with families and teachers to build behavior systems (like reward charts, daily routines, and schedules), then troubleshoot them over time
- Providing frequent, hands-on support so small wins compound into lasting habits
A Typical Session with a Therapist vs. LSS
In addition to the different roles therapists and LSSs play in your child’s care team, the way they will interact with them during appointments can vary significantly.
A normal session with a therapist is a bit like a conversation with a supportive friend. They will ask how your child has been doing lately and if they are struggling with anything; this might happen over a friendly game of cards or while working on a puzzle together. They might encourage your child to think about the beliefs behind their thoughts and behaviors, or they could offer explanations for why your child might be struggling with a certain situation. They might ask your child to do some therapeutic exercises as “homework” before their next meeting.
Sessions with an LSS tend to be more structured and action-oriented. Often, they will work with your child to practice a coping mechanism or strategy that they or your child’s therapist has identified. For example, they might play a game that reinforces turn-taking and impulse control, have your child use a 5-point scale to rate their stress level, or role-play interactions with an important person in your child’s life. In some situations, the LSS might accompany your child to help them practice skills in the classroom or other real-world environments.
Depending on your child’s specific needs, they might work with their therapist more than their LSS, or with their LSS more than their therapist. For instance, children with behavioral challenges like ADHD or ODD might need more time with their LSS, while those with anxiety, depression, or trauma may get the most benefit from time spent with their therapist.
What to Expect for Families
Families of children who receive services with Cummins have the opportunity to be involved in their treatment every step of the way.
If your child has a therapist, you’ll meet with them regularly to get updates on their progress, ask any questions or voice any concerns you may have, and share insights on your child that might be helpful to their treatment. You’ll also get a chance to learn the same things your child is learning about their mental health and well-being.
If your child has an LSS, they might ask you to help with skills training when your child is at home. This could involve leading them in skills-building activities, maintaining agreed-upon morning and evening routines, or holding them accountable to a chores chart.
If your child has both a therapist and an LSS, they will be sure to coordinate on your child’s treatment plan, check in with both you and your child’s teachers (per your consent), and adjust their strategies based on what is and isn’t working well.
Real-World Example: Treating School Anxiety
Let’s consider a real-world example of a child struggling with anxiety in a school-based setting. What might sessions with a therapist and life skills specialist look like?
When meeting with their therapist, the child might work on learning language to describe their anxious feelings, understanding which situations increase and decrease their anxiety, and picking a few skills or “tools” they can use when feeling anxious. Let’s say that the child and their therapist decide to try box breathing, cognitive reframing, and a discreet “help” signal they can use with their teacher.
With this framework in place, the child’s LSS might create a plan with the child and their teacher for using these skills in the classroom. For example, the child might be instructed to practice box breathing with the help of a visual aid, use the “help” signal twice during the week, and rate their anxiety both before and after using one of these skills. The LSS will provide coaching in the classroom to reinforce the plan and take note of successes and obstacles.
At regular intervals, the therapist and LSS will review the child’s progress, congratulate them on improvement, and adjust their treatment plan as needed. They will also meet with the child’s parents to keep them apprised of developments, listen to feedback, and discuss how they can support their child’s treatment progress at home.