Child Psychotherapy
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy is a method of helping children, young people and their families with all sorts of worries and difficulties.
The difficulties being experienced by a child or young person might be to do with feeling very sad, angry or anxious and could be to do with unhappy experiences that are making it hard for a child or a young person to feel confident about themselves.
Psychotherapists most often work with children and young people individually alongside parents/carers receiving help for themselves. Sometimes psychotherapists work just with parents/carers on their own to help with the difficulties that are being experienced.
They will help the children, young people and families to make more sense of their problems to help them feel better. The psychotherapy with younger children involves providing toys and art materials to help the child to express their feelings and thoughts through play. Older children and adolescents might also use drawing or painting in their psychotherapy to help them express how they feel.
Who might see my child?
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists are specialists trained in psychotherapy with children, young people and parents. Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists will be members of the Association of Child Psychotherapists.
How long does it take?
Psychotherapy with children, young people and/or parents may be short term or long term. The psychotherapy may be as brief as 2-6 sessions. Sometimes the psychotherapy can continue for a year or more with the child and young person having a psychotherapy session once a week. The length of time needed to help is thought about carefully with the child or young person and parents/carers at the start reviewed regularly.
