When Does Child Therapy Come into Play?

Over the past few years, the conversation around child therapy has taken a turn for the good. While the stigma around mental health continues to breathe normally in our lives, it has started to become better than what it was before. The idea of a therapist for teens is more accepting in today’s society and so it should be. Kids have enormous pressures to deal with and they barely have the necessary tools to handle that level of pressure on a daily basis. Apart from the stress, prevalent issues like bullying, aggravated family matters, divorces and more, also play a huge role in children seeking therapy. To deal with adolescents and teens, there are different kinds of psychologists who are equipped with different sets of skills. These psychologists are called child psychologists and nowadays, there are plenty of practicing child psychologists in major cities of India. Tier 2 and tier 3 cities are still catching up to this phenomenon. So, why and when does your child need therapy?

Before we delve into reasons and instances wherein child therapy comes into play, let’s understand what it is. It is very similar to therapy for adults, wherein it provides a safe space and an understanding ear to the child while also making sure that there are necessary tools to influence a change in attitude, thoughts and behaviour. A child psychologist is that empathetic ear in that safe space. Child therapy can be practiced with just the child, the child and their parent or parents, and even with multiple families as a group session. Usually, it is due to performance pressure, bullying or a divorce that causes enough distress for a child to seek help. There are cases where multiple sources affect the child at the same time, and all of that combined can be a huge ask for a child to handle all by themselves. Sexual abuse, something that studies shown is very common in India also leads to trauma which affects the day to day life of a child.

In most of the cases, parents or guardians think that they can handle their child. That sense of responsibility and resistance towards therapy comes from years of conditioning. It is also one of the main factors that therapy must fight on a daily basis to end the stigma around mental health. However, a distressed kid, with no necessary tools to handle such enormous amount of stress and trauma, usually resorts to unusual behaviour patterns. When it gets out of control, that is when a parent seeks help. Thankfully, child therapy in Mumbai and other major cities in India has become a lot more feasible and accessible in recent years. However, there are times when it is too late for a therapist to intervene and make things better. If your child is going through something similar, please do not hesitate, get past your conditioning and seek help for your child. That is the first step in a long journey to getting better.