Child Therapy
What is Counselling for Children & Adolescents?
Counselling is commonly known as a ‘talking therapy’ to help bring about change and enhance resilience and well-being. Counselling for children and young people may differ from adult counselling and will depend on the child‘s age, specific difficulties and development.
Sometimes children are unable to talk about what is troubling them, either because it is too upsetting, or simply because they do not yet posess the maturity to articulate their feelings. As a result, and if appropriate to the child or adolescent, different methods such as play, art or story telling can be used to help children express themselves and their emotions.
Older children may prefer talking therapy, or a mixture of both, and the counselling approach will depend on the particular individual. Although different methods may be used, the aim of counselling for both children and adults is ultimately the same; to help the individual cope better with their emotions and feelings.
How does Child Therapy Benefit Children & Adolescents?
One-to-one ‘Child Therapy’ counselling can help support children in a safe, containing environment, allowing life issues or painful and uncomfortable memories to be confronted. Counselling children involves helping the child to develop a positive attitude to life, to respect themselves, accept their feelings and express them responsibly. It helps children to develop self-control and direction, learning creative and resourceful ways to confront problems, whilst making independent, positive choices.
Counselling children does not involve making decisions for the child, preaching at, or imposing beliefs on them; but, instead, helps them to find new ways and insights to understand problems constructively, allowing the negative impact to be reduced.
Counselling for children is an effective early intervention and has been shown to improve well-being, playing a vital role in the prevention of mental illness later in life. Research also suggests, in time, counselling can improve academic attainment, allowing children to better focus on school and studies.
“Children must be approached and understood from a developmental perspective. They must not be viewed as miniature adults. Their world is one of concrete realities and their experiences are often communicated through play. Unlike adults whose natural medium of communication is verbalization, the natural medium of communication for children is play activity. (Landreth, 1991)
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me
Anger Management
Anorexia nervosa
Anxiety
Asperger’s syndrome
Attachment disorder
Bereavement
Binge-eating disorder
Bipolar disorder/Manic depression
Body dysmorphic disorder
Bulimia nervosa
Bullying
Cancer support
Carer support
Child related issues
Chronic fatigue syndrome /ME
Depression
Dementia
Disabilities
Dissociation
Domestic violence
Eating disorders
Emotional abuse
Family issues
Fetishes
Gender dysphoria
Generalised anxiety disorder
HIV/AIDS
Hoarding
Infertility
Low self-confidence
Low self-esteem
Miscarriage
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic Attacks
Passive aggressive behaviour
Personality disorders
Phobias
Physical abuse
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Postnatal depression
Pregnancy and birth
Redundancy
Relationship issues
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Self-harm
Separation and divorce
Sexual abuse
Sexual Addiction
Sexuality
Stress
Suicidal thoughts
Trauma
You May be Interested in Play Therapy
NI Counselling offers therapeutic treatment for adults, adolescents and children with a vast range of emotional and behavioural issues and concerns.
Telephone
Office locations
Belfast, Newtownabbey, Magherafelt & Antrim
By appointment only
Each of our therapist are accredited and have different specialist fields and backgrounds, we can help you find the right fit for you!
We have appointments available online and by telephone, we also have face-to-face appointments available at our various office locations across Northern Ireland.
NI Counselling & Associates Ltd is a registered company – Limited Company Registration NI694550