Psychology for Children and Adolescents
We all want the best for our children's emotional and psychological well-being as a parent. Sometimes, children or teenagers may need a space to just get things off their chest or to explore resolutions to a problem they aren't comfortable sharing with friends or family. Other times they may be facing a more serious emotional or behavioural struggle that could require psychological support. A psychologist can be a valuable resource in providing guidance and strategies to help children thrive.
What presenting issues can we work with?
The psychologists at Adaptive Counselling and Psychology are able to work with a range presentations including:
School stress, Bullying, Friendship issues, LGBTIQA related issues, Parent separations, Anxiety, Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, OCD, Trauma, Anger management, School refusal, and Family conflict
What Therapies do we perform?
Working with children requires adaptions to evidence-based practices that suit the needs of younger people. As such, therapies include:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT),
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT),
Solution Focused Therapy,
Music Therapy to improve relationships between parents and children,
Play therapy for children
What can I expect from my Child’s first session?
When working with Children, both parents need to be aware of and consent to their child receiving treatment. Whilst we try to ensure your child feels comfortable to share any sensitive information with their Psychologist, parents need to be informed of all relevant information and any risks that may be disclosed in the course of treatment. Our Psychologist will invite you as the parent’s to attend the first session with your child, and include you as part of the treatment planning and assessment. There may be part of the session where we ask to see the parent or child by themselves, but always make sure that all parties are comfortable beforehand.
At the end of your first session, you should understand how the sessions will look moving forward, and agree on a treatment plan . Before your first session, we ask that you complete our intake, and consent form so that we can understand a bit about what has brought you to therapy.
From July 2025 onwards, we will also be offering assessment options for adolescents including:
Cognitive Assessment (intellectual ability / disability; verbal and nonverbal thinking and problem solving; working memory; processing speed; adaptive behaviour)
ADHD Assessment
Autism Assessment (ADOS-2)