Child Therapy and Consultation
Childhood is a time of continual development and learning in academic, emotional, social, self-care, and intellectual spheres. Most parents are aware that their child's personality is still in formation and that it often takes much time, energy, and adult support for young people to meet the wide-array of challenges they face. Parents usually feel considerable anxiety when they believe their child is having difficulty. This demonstrates how heavily invested parents are in their children, and how much children continue to depend on the important adults in their lives to help them in their development. Therapy with children tends to be much more effective when there is close collaboration between a therapist and the parent(s) and/or caregiver(s).
Getting started
Before starting therapy with a child I think it is important to have several meetings with the parents or caregivers in order to gather background information and to begin formulating a plan going forward. At this time I would seek out your impressions and understanding about your child's difficulties, and gather developmental information. As the parent or caregiver you know your child better than anyone else, and your contribution is crucial. At the end of this period I would share my thoughts and offer a recommendation on how to proceed. Depending on the age of the child, the nature of the problems, and other factors, we would decide on a plan.
Child therapy
Like adults, children who are having difficulty often benefit significantly when helped to understand their feelings and experiences. However, due to developmental reasons many children are better able to express themselves through imaginary play, drawing, games, and other symbolic activities rather than through having purely verbal discussions as most adults do when in talk therapy. These activities, and the ways that children approach them often convey what they are feeling, and how they perceive and make sense of the people, relationships, and events that are important in their lives.
Work with parents and caregivers
As I have been stating throughout this section, parent/caregiver participation is often usually a major ingredient in therapy with children. As part of the planning it would be important to decide in what ways and how often we would be in contact.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gregory Villalba, LCSW
2354 Post Street, Suite F
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 794-1578
[email protected]
Getting started
Before starting therapy with a child I think it is important to have several meetings with the parents or caregivers in order to gather background information and to begin formulating a plan going forward. At this time I would seek out your impressions and understanding about your child's difficulties, and gather developmental information. As the parent or caregiver you know your child better than anyone else, and your contribution is crucial. At the end of this period I would share my thoughts and offer a recommendation on how to proceed. Depending on the age of the child, the nature of the problems, and other factors, we would decide on a plan.
Child therapy
Like adults, children who are having difficulty often benefit significantly when helped to understand their feelings and experiences. However, due to developmental reasons many children are better able to express themselves through imaginary play, drawing, games, and other symbolic activities rather than through having purely verbal discussions as most adults do when in talk therapy. These activities, and the ways that children approach them often convey what they are feeling, and how they perceive and make sense of the people, relationships, and events that are important in their lives.
Work with parents and caregivers
As I have been stating throughout this section, parent/caregiver participation is often usually a major ingredient in therapy with children. As part of the planning it would be important to decide in what ways and how often we would be in contact.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gregory Villalba, LCSW
2354 Post Street, Suite F
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 794-1578
[email protected]
