There are many children whose mental state is out of balance, and it can be harmful to themselves or others.

If your child has engaged in self-harm, then counselling intervention is necessary.

Counsellors need to develop a relationship based on trust to make the children talk about their problems and learn to “manage” them.

Counselling sessions help kids who have faced trauma or personal loss to cope and do better.

With chronic emotional and psychological problems, only child counselling or therapy can help.

Child counselling focuses on young children, teens, and adolescents with mental illnesses such as:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
• Conduct Disorder (CD)
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Tourette Syndrome
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Counsellors often conduct parent-child counselling to help recognize the real causes of the problem and help the parents understand their child’s issue.

Counselors help parents recognize, identify, assess, and assist their children whenever they are going through one of the “episodes” like deep instinct to cause harm, suicidal thoughts, depression, panic attacks, bed-wetting, etc.

One of her clients was a young, visually challenged person, having lost his eyesight due to meningitis, whose sisters were worried about him being anxious, hyper, and agitated. The father was retired, and at home, so he had a lot of time to worry about his son.

After seeing this nice and wonderful young boy for a couple of sessions, she realized that his family needs counselling more than him as they are unable to adjust themselves around his new reality.

The young guy was interested in robotics, crafts, comedy, and many other things. The family was “buying” him all the stuff but was worried that he would get bored with the property.

She pointed out that the kid has a physical limitation to engage with all this new stuff, and without guidance, he cannot continue using it.

Realizing this, they engaged a mentor for him who worked with the kid regularly and helped him use tools and gadgets. The young boy is growing very well now with lots of opportunities open.

Therefore, counselling is needed for both the parents and the children, and sometimes the entire family to be useful and helpful.

Counsellors also conduct counselling for single mothers or single fathers to help them understand both parents’ needs for the children and how they can manage it.

As a therapist or a child counsellor, they will:

• Talk and Listen: Talking helps express emotions, expectations, and fears. When a child is given a safe space to talk freely, s/he provides subtle clues about them. They speak only when they know that they are not being judged.
• Involve in Activities: Therapists use activities like drawing, craft, mindfulness, and shallow breathing to help manage bodily reactions during episodes.
• Teach new Life-Skills: Life skills like self-control, sharing, anger management, active listening, waiting for a turn, following instructions, losing gracefully, being fair, etc. are imparted with the games, rewards, and penalties.
• Teach Problem Solving: Counsellors often involve kids in scenario building, strategy games, and games mimicking life and its challenges. They practice to objectively, look at the problems, and solve them.

Unlike Life Coaching, Counselling is different because of the following characteristics:

• The counselor is in charge and sets the agenda.
• Its purpose is to “fix what is broken.”
• Counselling focuses on feelings and past events.
• Its purpose is to heal the dysfunctional.
• Counsellors work with the core beliefs of children and their parents.
• They try to explore the root of problems and may uncover some hidden emotional scars.
• The primary assumption is the client needs healing.