PARENTS
Counselling for your child
It can be overwhelming when your child lives in fear, sadness or self-doubt. You may feel like you have tried everything and just do not know what to do anymore. Perhaps you experience these thoughts: “I just don’t know what to do. I want life to be better/different for them.”
Typically, the first session is for a parent(s) without their child’s attendance. This is a time to talk about current struggles, major changes in their lives, current difficulties, personality, family dynamics, preferences, and hopes for the counselling process. This session gives a base-line for counselling and also gives enough information for a specific counselling plan can be created.
Is counselling right for my child?
Children experience stress differently than adults. The way in which they process and integrate stress will manifest differently. Children may become withdrawn, irritable, anti-social, disobedient, sad or anxious. If your child is exhibiting behaviors that are atypical, counselling may be a good fit.
How much will I get to know?
At the end of every session, parents will receive a brief verbal description of the counselling process. Something along the lines of “We talked about feelings today and how to find ways to cope with anger.”
Specific details of the session will not be described. The counselling space needs to be a safe space in which the child can say or express anything they need to without feeling that their parents may find out. If the child is in danger or experiencing significant stress you will be informed. The child is able to tell you as much as they would like. However, give your child space and time to process what occurred within counselling and do not pry.
How does counselling work for children?
For very young children, counselling looks mostly like play. Children process their emotions and understand their world through facilitated play. For young children, counselling is a mix between play and activity. While children are in this transition, they still need to process through play but they can also understand their world through activity sheets and external processes. Teenagers will often engage in counselling through conversation. However, direct eye contact can occasionally be intimidating, so sometimes coloring, a game or a worksheet can be helpful to break up the eye contact.
How many sessions?
The average child/teen will attend counselling for 5 to 7 sessions. Occasionally further sessions are desired or clients sometimes like to have a “checkup” session in a few months after the initial counselling is completed. Counselling will occur at your pace which means the child/teen can come every week, every other week or once a month depending on your/their preferences.
Children experience and process stress differently than adults. They need a another approach to counselling.
Informed consent for Parents
In the first session the parents will sign informed consent.
This gives permission for the child to attend counselling. Both parents do not need to sign as long as the parent signing is able to consent to medical services since counselling falls within that framework.
12 Years and older:
If your child is over 12 years of age and they have sufficient understanding, they can sign informed consent for themselves and do not require a parent’s signature.
