Detailed information on diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in children and adolescents.

How Can I Tell If My Child Needs Help?

It is often difficult to know if a child (under 12) needs help for a psychological problem. Children are so involved with their family that sometimes parents' problems become confused with a child's problems. Divorce, death of a family member, moving, change or loss of parent's job, illness in the family, and going to a new school may all cause stress for children. When deciding whether your child needs help, keep in mind that an appropriate reason to consider treatment for a child is if he or she is generally unhappy.

The following checklist includes some of the signs that could help you decide if your child would benefit from psychological therapy. You may want to find help for your child if any of these warning signs have been present for some time.

What Are Mental Health Warning Signs For Younger Children?

1. Displays unusual changes in emotions or behavior.
2. Has no friends or has difficulty getting along with other children.
3. Is doing poorly in school, misses school frequently, or does not want to attend.
4. Has lots of minor illnesses or accidents.
5. Is very anxious, worried, sad, scared, fearful, or hopeless.
6. Cannot pay attention or sit still; is hyperactive.
7. Is disobedient, aggressive, irritable, excessively angry; often screams or yells at people.
8. Does not want to be away from you.
9. Has frequent disturbing dreams or nightmares.
10. Has difficulty falling asleep, wakes up during the night, or insists on sleeping with you.
11. Becomes suddenly withdrawn or angry.
12. Refuses to eat.
13. Is frequently tearful.
14. Hurts other children or animals.
15. Wets the bed after being toilet-trained.
16. Suddenly refuses to be alone with a certain family member, friend, or acts very disturbed when he or she is present.
17. Displays affection inappropriately or makes unusual sexual gestures or remarks.
18. Talks about suicide or death.

Some of these problems may be resolved by working with a teacher, counselor or school psychologist. Help can also come from concerned family members who offer reassurance, love and the most secure home environment possible.

It is normal for parents to experience guilt feelings because their child is having emotional or behavioral problems. But a child’s problems do not always have to do with the home or school environment.

Also, it is possible that problems may be caused by physiological factors, so the child should have a complete medical examination before starting therapy.

How Do I Choose A Mental Health Professional For A Child?

A mental health professional for your child should be warm and caring and still be professional and objective. Parents and children should begin to feel comfortable after several sessions, though both may be anxious, frightened, angry or resistant to treatment at the beginning. Effective mental health professionals are trained to anticipate and work with those emotions so that open communication can be established. To select a mental health professional, you may want to talk to more than one person.

How Does Therapy Work For Children?

When your child is in therapy, the relationship between the mental health professional and the child is the same as it would be with an adult, but you, as the parent, will be involved as an interested third party. Early in therapy, you and the therapist should be able to identify the child's main problems and set goals to solve them.

There are many therapeutic techniques that are used with children. A common technique is play therapy, which gives children a more natural means to communicate with adults. By using games, dolls, and art, the child is often able to express difficult emotions.

Older children with better communication skills may be able to talk more directly with the mental health professional. The counselor or therapist may suggest other family members come for a number of sessions to help understand how the family works as a system. He/she may suggest new ways to relate to your child at home.

It may take time for your child to get comfortable in therapy. Just as with adults and adolescents, problems may become worse before they get better. Try to get your child to stick with therapy until he/she feels comfortable. However, if the child really seems to distrust the therapist after some time, it is a good idea to look for someone else.