Children/Adolescent Counselling
Children and adolescents today have a lot going for them. They not only have exposure, comforts and privileges, but also stressors. They also have the burden of parental expectations and societal pressure on them. A small step to support them during right time can be a wonderful gift for them to become their best version.
In the developmental life span of human beings, child/adolescent phase is more critical for development than other phases though all have their equal importance.The physical and mental development are rapid during childhood to adolescence.For adolescent’s school life or college life can be demanding, challenging and even stressful.There could be adjustment issues, peer pressures, decisions to make regarding career choices, body image and sexuality issues, expectations from parents, relationship issues or making friends etc.The adolescent phase itself is marked by change and turbulence At the same time, psychological well-being and mental health are result of the interaction between the environment and the genetics which help in the development of the personality of an individual.
During this formative years as children and then as adolescents, they tend to acquire many habits which are more difficult to change at a later stage or in adult years. Since today’s children are tomorrow’s future, it becomes very crucial to make these formative years as healthy as possible, so that they develop the right kind of attitude, habits, traits and stability. It is a well-known fact that children not only develop many habits during these formative years, they also tend to develop many problems which if not corrected at the right time may hinder and impact their adult life and create serious problems.
Some areas where counselling is helpful for children/adolescents
- Attention deficit hyper activity disorder
- Eating disorder
- Bed wetting
- Anxiety disorder
- Stress
- Childhood schizophrenia
- Behavioural problems: Aggression and violence, bullying, substance abuse, etc.
- Developmental issues: Mental retardation, autism…
- Learning disabilities related to reading, mathematics, writing, etc.
- Depression
- Sleep and adjustment disorder
- Gifted child
What we do at Threewaves
- The session is for 60 minutes one-on-one session with the child and parents, and also a combined session with both the child and the parents. Number of sessions depends on individual cases.
- Assessment is a crucial step in understanding and managing the issue. Assessment of the problem helps in
- Clearly identifying the problem,
- Defining it,
- Selecting the appropriate therapy,
- Specifying the therapy objectives, and
- Setting the goals.
Children are sensitive beings and one needs to be very careful when handling them. So, at Threewaves we employ various techniques and tools to conduct the assessment. Some are: direct assessment, indirect assessment and assessment using play way methods, etc.
- Analysis: The data so collected will be analysed for further action
- Based on the analysis, we have suitable strategies to manage the concerns.
- Management of problems/concerns: Consistency is the key to manage the issues and problems that the child/adolescent faces. Management of problems is multi-faceted. All the stake holders including parents, teachers, peers along with the child will be involved depending on the need of the case.
- General techniques for the management or prevention includes : Though every case is special and the interventions are customised accordingly, we follow certain general techniques and they are:
- Behaviour modification: Reinforcement, Token economy, Cognitive behaviour therapy(CBT), Aversion therapy, etc.
- Family counselling:The problems in the child’s life is considered as are rflection of the dysfunction in the family system. Parental education and training forms a crucial part.
- Play Therapy: Children feel most comfortable while playing.Play is their natural medium of expression. Keeping this in mind, play is used in a systematic and therapeutic manner to deal with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. Just as adults ‘talk out’ their difficulties during counselling. The child ‘plays out’ his feelings and problems during play therapy.
- Preventive measures: Prevention is the best form of intervention that is cost effective and, time and energy saving. We suggest parents and teachers to establishing clear rules and guidelines, anger management training, inter-personal skills, inculcating proper values through adult role models etc which helps the child to develop appropriate attitudes and prosocial behaviour.
- Referral: Some cases require the intervention of a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist, specially in developmental disorders and, early childhood schizophrenia and depression. Such cases will be referred to the specialists depending on the case.
The experiences of the child/adolescent should be such that they equip the child/ adolescent with the right attitudes, values and skills that make him/her healthy in all aspects and contribute to the society. If parents or teachers feel there is abnormality in the child, timely intervention saves the child/adolescent from unforgettable experiences which may have a scar for life.
Know the Warning Signs
A small amount of change is normal during the teen years, but too drastic or long-lasting change in personality or behaviour may be the signal of child being in trouble. These needs to be addressed with the professional help.If you observe any of these, take immediate help.
- Extreme weight gain or loss
- Sleep problems
- Skipping school continually
- Falling grades
- Rapid, drastic changes in personality
- Sudden change in friends
- Talk or even jokes about suicide
- Signs of tobacco, alcohol, or drug use
- Run-ins with the law
Few Helpful Tips
- Tell your kids what you want them to do! Explain the desired behaviors in ways your kids can understand and demonstrate for them what you mean.
- Criticize the behavior, not the person. Correcting children is a necessary component of parenting, but it is important to distinguish between admonishing the act and demeaning the child.
- Don’t assume they learned it: repeat it! Make sure that you give your children time to practice – everything from tying shoes to getting dressed in the morning.
- What they say to themselves is what counts. “Self-motivation is the only true motivation.” Empowering our children to be positive thinkers will give them the strength to be patient and persevere when faced with challenges.
- Send a constant message of love. Love comes in many forms, and our children all have their own needs and preferences for receiving love. We can love our children with words, actions (like playing their favorite game with them), by listening to them, and by being present in their everyday lives.