Therapy with children

Sometimes children can struggle with their mental and emotional wellbeing just like adults can. They or the adults around them might need a place to explore and tackle their difficulties. Even with the most supportive family, talking about worries with parents can feel difficult for children and young people. This is where therapy sessions can be helpful.

Therapy with a psychologist will look different depending on the needs of the child/young person and family. Sessions are usually 50 minutes, but can be shorter or longer depending on need. How many sessions can vary from as little as a one of session, sometimes a set amount e.g. 12, or for some it makes sense to continue regular sessions for many months.

Some children (and parents!) may feel nervous about therapy. This is really normal and I have a few ideas up my sleeve for what can help with this. I am also happy to work with schools and other people who are in a child's life. To give you a better idea of how this work may look, I have included to some examples below.

I can also offer sessions for parents to think about their child's needs and this can be an alternative to direct child therapy, or used in combination.

I have experience working with children who have been adopted and their parents.

My rate includes planning time, supervision costs, professional registration fees, insurance, CPD and administrative costs. Any time spent writing letters e.g. request for school to offer support is charged as extra. Detailed reports come at an additional cost and I can discuss this according to need.

See below for the types of work I can do (all children presented are fictional but draw on my many years of experience and the difficulties I have worked with)

Jack

Jack was 11 and had started refusing to go to school. I initially met with his Mum at home when Jack was nearby so he could get used to me. He agreed to show me his newest Lego set and we spent time getting to know each other. When he felt able to start talking about his worries, we were able to set some goals. We worked together for 12 sessions to build up his anxiety management skills. I was also able to talk to the school and his parents about things that would help. At the end of the work, I shared resources with someone in school to carry on the work and helped set up a plan to develop his confidence as he got older.

Ava

Ava was a 9 year old girl who had been adopted at 3 months old into a loving home. She had been getting into trouble at school for rudeness and being nasty to others. At home she would have 'meltdowns'.

I first met with her Mum and Dad to understand more about Ava's history and current difficulties. I also spoke to her school. I first spent some time with her at home playing and building trust before moving our sessions to a room in school. Ava was able to tell me her difficulties and worries and we worked as a team with school and home to make the school day easier to manage. By the end of the school year, she had formed some better friendships and was able to show her kind side more often at home and in school.

Mohammed

Mohammed's grandmother had sadly died during the pandemic. This had been devastating or the whole family, but Mohammed seemed to be more affected. He had started washing his hands constantly and was hoarding items under his bed.

I met with Mohammed with his Mum at home and Mohammed was happy to meet with me 1:1 for therapy. We worked together over 8 sessions to reduce his handwashing and hoarding and also spoke about his bereavement. Most of the work was with Mohammed, but brought his family into a couple of the final sessions so they could continue to support the work.

Laila

Laila was 13 and had recently lost a lot of weight. She had been on a diet but was no refusing to eat with her family so her food intake could not be monitored. I met with Laila and her Mum to assess the difficulties. I recommended that they needed to speak to their GP. The GP referred the family to the local NHS child and adolescent mental health service. The family was able to access family therapy and support to help Laila gain some weight.

I continued to meet with Laila fortnightly to give her a place to talk about other issues that were affecting her but were unrelated to her eating difficulties. This helped her gain her self esteem.

The family invited me back for some one off sessions to help Laila manage exam anxiety two years later and we worked together for four sessions on stress management skills.