22 May Reasons why a Psychologist should involve your Family in your Child’s Therapy?
It is evident that a child’s mental, emotional and behavioural state can greatly impact a family’s functioning and connectedness. In the same way, a families ability to function and its dysfunction can determine the trajectory of a childs emotional, psychological and behavioural growth and development. Here are some benefits of involving the family in the therapy of children:
- Systemic theory posits that children are the thermometers of a families emotional ‘temperature’. They also see children as ‘acting out’ the underbelly emotions of the family as children, especially young children do not have the emotional vocabulary to verbalise their feelings. By working with the family to address the childs challenges, it may also be indirectly, or directly address common felt experiences of the family.
- Children often model off their parents reactions and behaviours. For example, if a child is presenting with health anxiety and start to be hypervigilant of germs and this is being modelled by a parent with OCD resulting in frequent hand washing, then working solely with the child is ineffective. Both parents, or at the very least, the parent with OCD are recommended to be involved for therapy to be effective.
- Therpay is only one hour a week. Max. By having family members present, especially parents, they are more likely to help the child challenge their fears or distressing emotions outside of the treatment room as they have been involved in therapy and had strategies modelled by the child psychologist.
The northern beaches and north shore of Sydney are lucky to have a number of fantastic child psychologists. When you choose a child psychologist, we recommend that you ask how involved you can be as a parent and as a family. The desired response from the psychologist is that they are child-centered but also willing to work with the ‘systems’ the child is in, home/school etc to achieve the best outcomes for the child.
Nala Hub is situated in Killarney Heights, close to Frenches Forest and Forestville. We are here to serve our local community and provide exempelary support for teens, children, adults, families and couples. We are big believers in family counselling also known as family therapy
By Emma Pratt, Clinical Psychologist and Co-Founder of Nala Hub