Child Psychotherapy
Child psychotherapy offers children a safe and trusting environment within which they are able to explore strong feelings such as fear, sadness, hurt, anger, anxiety or confusion about themselves, their family or other aspects of their lives.Child psychotherapy focuses on children’s inner feelings and understandings and how they see and experience their environment. Through careful observation and direct respectful dialogue with the child, patterns that are interfering with healthy development are identified. The underlying meanings of these patterns of behaviour are sought and clarified.
The work of child psychotherapy occurs within the context of the family and the wider environment. Children use play as well as language to communicate their thoughts and feelings so as to enable understanding and growth. The therapeutic work takes place in a playroom well equipped for this purpose. In order to facilitate this experience the therapist, the room and its contents remain consistent.
The aim of child psychotherapy is to develop the child’s capacity for growth and development by establishing more appropriate ways of coping within their environment.
Child Psychotherapy can help children with:
- developmental delay due to social and emotional factors
- the effects of physical differences
- effects of physical, sexual and emotional abuse
- child-parent problems
- attachment problems
- mental health problems
- problems of aggression and violence
- family dysfunction
- childhood depression
- emotional/social skill deficits
- suicide threats and attempts
- environmental pressures
- withdrawal and neurosis
- self image
- psychosis
- identity
- children with chronic illness and dying children
- aspects of spirituality
- enuresis and encopresis
- adjustment problems
- effects of trauma
- effects of loss and grief
Child Psychotherapist