Our psychologists have extensive experience providing compassionate therapy for children. At Nala, we are committed to providing a nurturing and supportive environment for those experiencing social, emotional, or behavioural challenges. Our clinicians work in a way that respects the individuality of your child, whilst also enabling them to interact with the world around them that highlights and uncovers their strengths. We work with the family, GPs, specialists, and schools to ensure that as a team, we find the best path forward to support your child’s needs, promoting happiness and growth.
What To Expect
Consultations are 50 minutes long. For children 10 and under, we require that the initial appointment is with the parents only. This allows for your clinician to take a thorough child and family history and to openly discuss your concerns, plan for therapy, and goals.
Medicare allows a rebate to be claimed for two parent-only sessions per calendar year under your child’s Mental Health Care Plan. Please be aware that this will use two of the ten sessions your child is entitled to rebates on for the year.
Additionally, collaboration with schools and an observation of your child at school may also form an important part of the therapeutic process. Your psychologist will discuss any recommendations with you during the first few sessions and give you guidelines on the frequency of appointments to achieve the most effective and efficient outcomes for your child.
Parents
In most cases, it is considered essential to work in therapy with parents and the child to ensure a collaborative and meaningful approach to change. A lot of the strategies that are most useful are often implemented by the parents in the home. Your clinician will guide you as therapy progresses as to when child work or parenting work is needed.
We know there are cases where parent involvement in therapy due to separation/divorce may be harder to manage. Please take time to read further on how we work with separated parents.
We See Children For…
ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a pattern of inattention or hyperactive-impulsive behaviour, or both, that interferes with how a child functions or develops.
Anxiety
Anxiety can be generalised or it can be specific to social situations, performance, separation from a parent, mutism or school refusal.
OCD
There are different types of OCD. Some include checking, contamination, ruminating, intrusive thoughts, symmetry/ordering and hoarding.
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder is associated with social communication problems, black and white thinking, sensory challenges and behavioural difficulties.
Anger Management
Some children can exhibit anti-social behaviour and aggressive behaviour such as kicking, hitting, swearing, screaming or self-harm.
Emotional Regulation
Some children can be easily overwhelmed so they need to be taught skills so they feel confident to manage big emotions.
Sleeping Problems
The source of a lot of behavioural and emotional difficulties with children can be traced to sleeping problems which need to be addressed.
Self-esteem
Negative self-talk can be crippling, especially in social situations for children. They may compare themselves to their peers and put themselves down.