Seeing a psychologist can be a big help for children in certain situations. What are the most recurring reasons for consultations? An expert gives us her insight.
When a child is unwell, he or she is not always able to clearly say what is wrong or ask for help. In these situations, psychologists and other specialists can support children – and also parents – to understand what is happening and find suitable solutions. Valuable support, especially since it is almost always adults who must take the first step and offer this help.
Even if more children than before are asking to see a psychologist, it is generally parents, professionals (teaching team, treating doctor, etc.) or those around them who suggest consulting. The reasons behind this vary in each case, but there is no “small pattern” : “When a child is brought by his parent, there is always a basis for worry, incomprehension and questioning. It’s quite healthy and coherent”, explains Aline Nativel Id Hammou, clinical psychologist.
And precisely, what are the concerns of parents that lead them to make an appointment with the psychologist for their child? Among his patients, the reason most often mentioned is the change in behavior and mood. “There is a kind of frame of reference among all the adults who revolve around the child, they have knowledge of behavior or mood” of the child, and they therefore notice that something is changing, explains Aline Nativel Id Hammou. She also encourages them to trust their observations and not to wait too long before consulting: “I sometimes have parents who tell me, ‘He’s been like that for 6 months, a year.’ It may seem a little long before the appointment with a psychologist is made.”
Of course, in addition to this, there are other very recurring reasons for consultation, such as academic difficulties (drop in grades, drop in motivation, situation with the teaching team, suspicion of ADHD, dyslexia, etc.) and social difficulties, again in a school context: “My child cannot make friends, my child is bullied, my child does not feel good in a group, with other children, etc.. The third most common reason are “somatic disorders linked to sleep, eating, body image, regressions which can have a psychosomatic appearance because there are no physiological problems diagnosed”.
Aline Nativel Id Hammor also often receives young patients when they are facing a complex or difficult life event: this may be a move or a change of school, the separation of parents, something linked to trauma, the diagnosis of a pathology in the child or a loved one, the loss of a loved one, etc.
Whatever the situation, taking the step of taking your child to the psychiatrist is not always easy for parents, because there are still stigmas on the subject, but also because they can feel guilty for not having noticed the warning signs before if it was recommended by a professional or by those around them… But you simply have to remember that it is a good thing than taking care of your child’s mental health.
