Working with Children
Watching your child suffer from a mental health issue can be frightening and children often feel that no one can help them; as such working with children and adolescents requires an understanding and knowledge of child development as well as an ability to adapt therapeutic approaches to make them accessible to younger clients.
Patricia works hard to engage young people by making any intervention age appropriate and non-threatening.
Patricia is also aware of the importance of adults in a child’s life and if appropriate will endeavour to involve significant adults who may assist in treatment, normally parents. If appropriate Patricia will also be happy to liaise with the child’s school.
Common difficulties relating to children and adolescents:
Anxiety
Some issues you may notice
Separation Anxiety
Characterised by a need for close proximity to significant adults and a reluctance to do things others children seem to enjoy.
Social Anxiety
Feeling extreme anxiety in social situations and worrying excessively about what other people think.
Panic Disorder
Overwhelming feelings of panic are accompanied by physical symptoms such as nausea, stomach pain, headaches, breathlessness etc
OCD
Compulsive behaviours and obsessive thoughts which make children think they can take control and stop bad things from happening.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Worrying about everything, including things we cannot change or things that are unlikely to happen.
Health Anxiety
Wanting to be certain that nothing bad will happen to our health. Checking for symptoms or checking online and looking for constant reassurance.
Depression
Some issues you may notice
Self esteem issues
Often related to thoughts of being different, ‘not good enough’ or ‘not fitting in’
Feelings of worthlessness.
Pessimistic feelings about the future.
Self-harm and/or suicidal ideation *
* If you feel that your child is contemplating suicide you should seek help from emergency services.
Reduction in activities which previously gave pleasure.
Isolating Behaviours
e.g. staying in room and not communicating with family.
Drinking alcohol or taking other harmful substances.
Working with parents
Sometimes anxiety in children presents as a behavioural issue and parents often just need a little bit of support or reassurance when managing their children, particularly when behaviours are more challenging. New parents can also experience uncertainty around feeding and sleeping problems and temper tantrums in little ones.
‘One -off’ appointments, which can be revisited at any time, can be beneficial in helping parents identify key issues. Often some advice and recommendations are enough to equip parents with the skills to address problems themselves without the need for further input.
