11 Signs Your Child May Need Therapy
When your child is struggling with their mental health you can feel powerless. Trying to find help for them can be difficult and frustrating. At Kay’s Counselling, we have experienced children and young people’s counsellors who are available to provide the advice and therapy both you and your child need.
Particularly since the traumatic global events of the last few years, now more than ever children and young people are suffering mentally as a result. Growing up is never easy and it can be even harder to cope in the current climate.
It can be worth considering child therapy if your child shows signs or has expressed any of the following:
- feeling sad or hopeless
- having trouble talking or sleeping
- having problems with family, friends or at school
- finding it hard to concentrate or get on with friends
- hurting themselves or are having thoughts about hurting themselves
- feeling anxious and scared
- do not like themselves or have low self-confidence having
- problems with eating and food
- hearing voices or seeing things that worry them
- feeling angry or struggling to control their behaviour or temper
- having to check or repeat things, or worrying about germs
How Child Therapy Works
It can be hard for children and young people to open up to an adult, which is why psychotherapists qualified to work with children and young people use specialist techniques.
By working from the child’s perspective and point of view, through activities which are meaningful to them, using everything from drama, dance, and art to puppets and creative writing.
Psychotherapy can help children and young people to make sense of what they are experiencing, helping them to feel less distressed, become more self-aware, develop resilience and ultimately heal.
Benefits of Child Therapy
There are many potential benefits to allowing your child to receive therapy from a trained professional. These include:
- Making them aware of different coping methods
- Teaching them how to effectively manage any anxiety or emotional distress they are feeling
- Building the child’s self-esteem
Educating the child on how to deal with situations in the best possible way - Helping their communication skills
- Helping them to understand that they are not to be blamed for what has happened to them/ what they have witnessed