http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29preschool-t.html
One of the points that I most agreed with in this article is the absolute necessity of direct parental participation in a child's therapy.
The parents need to understand the child's concerns; the most effective way to facilitate communication between parent and child; and, the importance of practicing the new behaviors at home between sessions. The article calls this Parent-Child-Interaction-Therapy.
One of the biggest obstacles to a child's successful psychotherapy is for one or both of the parents to feel that the therapy is unnecessary. Children are very sensitive to what their parents think and will not take the therapy seriously if mom or dad do not.
Have you taken one or more of your children to a psychotherapist?
What concerns you the most about your child/children?
2 comments:
Interesting - I don't often encounter or treat children, much less pre-schoolers but a couple of interesting issues are raised. Hard to define/diagnose it. How to treat it that young? only 1 method is reported. I am also acutely aware no one mentioned medication which is a mainstay in adults. Thanx for sharing it with me. peace, John
Thanks for your thoughtful comments.
In my experience, the first place to start in therapy is with a parent (ideally parents) and child together. From that first session I can learn a lot about the interaction between parent and child and begin making suggestions to improve the relationship, increase communication and decrease conflict.
It is very important to give the parents hope. I actively appreciate what they are doing right and gently suggest ways of improving their interactions with their child/children.
I also focus on whether the parents are both in agreement about house rules, discipline, and all aspects of their child's life.
When I find serious disagreement between the parents, I suggest a parenting session with just the parents present to help them present a united front to their child/children.
This work is very rewarding because its focus is on prevention. I was first inspired to work with younger clients when session after session, I heard an adult say, "Steve, I wish someone had known what kind of emotional pain I was in when I was a kid."
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