What is Educational Therapy?

Educational therapy is a therapeutic process that addresses learning challenges through intervention, remediation, and/or explicit teaching of skills and strategies to access challenging tasks. In Educational Therapy, the therapist identifies patterns of learning in clients through assessments, interviews, and observations that consider cognitive ability, academic ability, social emotional wellness, and access to protective factors. The therapist helps clients understand their unique learning profiles and identify psychoeducational goals to address learning challenges. Together the therapist and client work toward goals through one-to-one support with school assignments, games, and other evidence-based learning activities. Educational therapy may focus on academic concerns such as executive functioning, reading decoding, reading comprehension, writing, spelling, math computation, math application, attention, and motivation. Educational therapists vary in their pedagogical approach and methodologies; it is important to seek a therapist that is mutually a good fit for the therapist and client. 

 

What is the difference between Tutoring and Educational Therapy?

Academic tutoring addresses challenges related to one or more specific academic skills and educational therapy addresses challenges related to an underlying, pathologic disability, disorder, or deficit that impacts academic and occupational skills at large. Academic tutoring is sought out to support individuals who are struggling with an academic skill or concept. It is often one-to-one, direct support from the academic tutor, who may be a teacher or a subject matter expert that is skilled to support the client in that learning endeavor. Skills or concepts may be re-taught and/or opportunities provided for practice to develop competency or mastery of the skill. Educational Therapy is a holistic approach to understanding learning challenges that may include tutoring, but also identifies and addresses underlying challenges that contribute to the presenting challenge. In educational therapy, the client works to overcome underlying difficulties by learning skills, strategies, and other tools to make the presenting challenge and future challenges manageable.

 

Is Educational Therapy the same as therapy?

The term "therapy" is commonly used to refer to psychotherapy during which a client works with a clinician to address concerns related to the client's social emotional wellbeing and/or deficits related to a psychological or developmental disorder. Educational Therapy and Psychotherapy are not the same. Educational Therapy is one of a myriad of different types of therapy including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and educational therapy where the clinician is trained in the specific area of focus for the intervention. Educational Therapy focuses on the impact of clients' challenges on their academic and vocational performance and readiness.