You’re probably familiar with the term ‘early intervention’…
(Which means taking action as early as possible to support children’s physical, mental and emotional needs.)
Well, research has shown that dealing with child anxiety as soon as possible can be hugely beneficial…
And when early intervention is not applied?
This often leads to more serious anxiety related challenges in adolescence and adulthood…
So what does excessive child anxiety look like?
Anxiety is the most common challenge faced by children and adults alike.
And, if left unchecked, it can lead to debilitating problems that prevent children from reaching their full potential…
Sometimes anxiety is obvious but the symptoms can often be vague and develop gradually over time.
In fact, sometimes parents may not even be aware that a child’s difficulties are related to their anxiety…
Loom bands are possibly just another passing childhood fad but here at Melbourne Child Psychology, we’re fans of the Rainbow Loom for their many therapeutic benefits.
So next time you’re pulling yet another handful of rubber bands from the vacuum cleaner and wondering if this is all just clever marketing, here are some points to ponder to (retrospectively) justify your purchase!
Counselling a child to help them to stop their self-harming behaviour is hard work.
Many bewildered parents and novice therapists are unaware of, or overlook, the fact that the behaviour has very powerful psycho-physiological rewards.
Self-harm (or self-injury) is known to slow down heart rate and breathing rates, and floods the body with feel-good endorphins.
The government is trialing a plan to provide newlywed couples with gift vouches for marriage counselling. They are going to spend 20 million dollars to give couples a $200 subsidy to attend counselling.
From July this year, 100 000 newlyweds will be able to use the vouchers for relationship counselling, conflict resolution, parental education and financial planning.
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews says that the move will help to promote family stability, creating a better home environment for children.
Realistically, a $200 voucher is only going to cover the cost of a single counselling session or maybe two if one or both people in the couple are eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan through Medicare.
For couples who are generally not distressed and are coping pretty well, a session or two to “check in” seems like a good idea, but what about ongoing support for families who are in distress?
A common pitfall I used to make in my first year out of grad school was to agonise over clients who didn’t seem to be making any progress.
In one extreme case, I worked with a teenage girl and her family for 12 months and at the end of time together, I was left seriously questioning whether I’d made any difference.
The girl suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and, in hindsight, it was quite a severe case. Her OCD got in the way of a lot of things in her life, including her ability to make progress in treatment.
She could chat about what treatment for OCD would look like and listen to the research and success stories, but when it came to actively engaging in strategies, it just never happened.
After our fourth session I asked her if she wanted to try another psychologist and reassured her that I wouldn’t be offended if she felt we weren’t clicking.
Many children will experience fearful situations, but they also have remarkable resilience and an ability to bounce back.
The experience of a traumatic event itself (such as a death or accident) does not necessarily mean that your child will experience any ongoing symptoms. However, in some cases where children struggle with the experience of a trauma, Psychologists look to the following guidelines for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the DSM-5*:
The field of psychology has come a long way in the past 150 years but it is still seen by many as unscientific. Some people conjure up images that a counselling session is all about scented candles or strange old men with beards waffling on and on about Oedipus. But, there is now strong evidence that supports the link between neurobiology and the efficacy of “talking therapies”.
Counselling helps children understand, manage and overcome many different personal challenges. Some of the most common problems parents come to seek advice for include anxiety, anger, and difficulties with friendships.
In counselling sessions we will work on your child’s self-esteem and empowering them so they can work towards achieving their personal goals. However, often we need to work in collaboration with parents so the work we do during counselling is supported and reinforced at home.
Got any questions before you book? Click here to request a phone call and a psychologist will call you at a convenient time (prospective clients only). Please keep in mind we are often busy with clients but we do our best to respond to all enquiries within one business day. :-)
(*As of 24th July, 2019.)