Children and Adolescents
Children and Adolescents can find it difficult to understand challenging life experiences and become preoccupied with negative thoughts and feelings. They can feel uncertain about their problems or future and this can create feelings of instability and insecurity. This can affect their concentration, schooling and confidence and result in unhelpful attitudes towards themselves. It can also make teenagers feel confused about their identity or where they fit in.
Psychological therapy assists children and adolescents in developing techniques and methods to manage difficult emotions or behaviours. An important aspect of the therapy is communication and building rapport to assist the child/adolescent in managing their feelings, building confidence and developing a positive sense of self which enables them to change behaviours. Examples of the techniques used in therapy are art therapy, role-playing, problem solving, as well as talking to the child/adolescent in order to create a safe environment for them to share their feelings and feel understood.
Family Therapy
Family Therapy is conducted to assist family members in strengthening their relationship, improving communication and resolving conflict. It helps the family to work more as a whole, rather than focusing on the one member and also assists in identifying the conflict, anxiety and stresses within the family. This enables the family to deepen their connections, develop strategies and skills to resolve conflict which in turn, enables them to manage stressful times.
The fundamental of Family Therapy is that each family is unique with its own social system, structure, values and patterns of communication. The parent’s beliefs and values, and each member’s personality influence and determine these patterns. Thus, each family member develops their own unique personality, which is influential and affects all of the family members. Family Therapy focuses on the family’s strengths and these are used to develop strategies to handle problems being experienced.
