What is Child Counseling?
Counseling is a therapy that helps you deal with your personal problems. It involves talking and discussing your problems with a professional counselor and together finding ways to control or solve them. Child counseling is necessary when children cannot understand or control their emotions or behavior. Certain issues with children that would help with counseling include relationships with family and step-family, bullying, bereavement/loss of a loved one, emotional or behavioral problems, literacy, and numeracy problems.
Techniques involved in Child Counseling
Your child’s therapist uses various techniques such as play, art, storytelling, drawing or talk therapy to encourage your child to speak openly about his/her feelings and experiences that may be disturbing him/her. A relationship of trust is built and goals are formulated after carefully and thoughtfully listening to your child. Goals are based on your child’s fundamental needs and your needs as parents.
During the course of the counseling, your child is encouraged to discuss his/her experiences and find solutions or methods of coping with them. What is said remains confidential, and is not judged or criticized. Children are encouraged to make positive decisions to manage their emotions and behavior and to recognize the negative consequences of bad behavior. It helps them develop a positive attitude, recognize their strengths, accept their weaknesses, express themselves better and deal with painful or disturbing experiences.
Counseling sessions may be one-on-one or involve the family. It usually takes six to twelve weeks or longer depending on the needs of your child.