An essential ingredient in children’s counselling is a bit of fun

Very few children will want to come along and talk about what’s bothering them if the process is full of worksheets and feels like school work.  At Childhood Psychology, when we first meet with children we like to find out about their interests, so we can tailor counselling appointments with this in mind.

It is not uncommon for our counselling appointments to include elements of Minecraft or Star Wars, or getting out the craft box to create pretty, glittery projects as part of talking about worries and generating strategies to address them.  For children talking about tricky things can be much easier and less confronting when they are busy creating something.  Their take home creations are also great conversation starters for sharing the counselling process with parents and carers and reminding children of their coping strategies at home.

All in all, counselling works best if kids want to be a part of it! Many private health funds offer rebates for counselling with a psychologist or talk to your GP, as your child may be eligible for a mental health care plan, which attracts a Medicare rebate on counselling appointments.

Julie Steward – Psychologist