Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health

What is Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents?

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Revitalizing Psychiatry for North Jersey Mental Health:

"Psychotherapy refers to a variety of techniques and methods used to help children and adolescents who are experiencing difficulties with emotion and behavior. Although there are different types of psychotherapy, each relies on communications as the basic tool for bringing about change in a person's feelings and behaviors. Psychotherapy may involve an individual child, group or family. In children and adolescents, playing, drawing, building, and pretending, as well as talking, is important ways of sharing feelings and resolving problems."

Psychotherapy for children and adolescents is available at the Center of Revitalizing Psychiatry

Play therapy for children and adolescents

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WHAT IS PLAY THERAPY & WHY CHOOSE IT FOR YOUR CHILD

Play therapy is the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.

CURATIVE POWERS OF PLAY ARE :
- Self-Expression - Access to the Unconscious
- Facilitation of the Learning Process - Metaphorical Insight
- Relieving and Re-enactment of Traumatic Events - Guidance
- Catharsis (psychological expression of the accumulated conflicts)
- Sublimation (substituting unacceptable urges into acceptable emotions and behaviour)
- Alliance Formation with the Therapist - Building Attachments
- Building Moral Judgement - Power/Control Assessment
- Teaching Self-Control - Building Competence
- Gaining Empathy and Competence - Instillation of Hope

Main Healing Powers of Play are Self-Expression and Self-Disclosure, which are facilitated during the Play Therapy to help a child identify his problems/conflicts, understand these conflicts, accept them and cope with them.
Play therapy can be used with clients of a wide age range- as early as 3-4 years old with no limit of a maximum age where a play therapy can be applied. It DOES work with all the ages.
Play therapy was shown to be quite effective in comparison to other kinds of psychological treatment and the results of a research on play therapy were published in such journals as Psychological Bulletin, International Journal of Play Therapy and others.
Since there are different kinds of play therapy and therapeutic techniques, each psychological problem/disorder is approached with a particular chosen play therapy technique in a manner of being the best match/fit for a problem the client presents with.
The tools of play therapy through which a child/adolescent is able to express his conflicting feelings and thoughts are: play-do materials, puppets, dolls, Lego, board games, which emphasize the feeling and thinking processes of a child/adolescent, building blocks, short stories, doll houses, etc.

Play therapy is available at the Center of Revitalizing Psychiatry

Types of Therapeutic Interventions for Children

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Several types of interventions may be recommended to suit the child or adolescent’s specific needs. At times, a combination of different psychotherapy approaches may be helpful. In some cases a combination of medication and psychotherapy may be more effective.

Individual treatment: Individual treatment provides the child or adolescent with the opportunity to meet one on one with a psychotherapist. Individual treatment focuses on enabling the child or adolescent to express in their own way the problems or issues they are experiencing in order to better manage their conflicts and feelings. A combination of play and talk may be used in individual therapy depending on age (see Play Therapy).

Parent Guidance: The psychotherapist and/or psychiatrist will meet regularly with the parent or guardian to discuss progress and any new issues that may arise. Parents and guardians are encouraged to participate in the treatment process and to offer information that may be helpful.

Family Treatment: Family treatment focuses on helping the family function in more positive and constructive ways by exploring patterns of communication and providing support and education. Family therapy sessions can include the child or adolescent along with parents, siblings and grandparents or any other family member residing in the home.

Group Therapy: Group therapy uses the power of group dynamics and peer interactions to increase understanding and improve social skills. Groups are structured based on age and type of issue.

These interventions are available at the Center of Revitalizing Psychiatry

Useful links

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