You may have started psychotherapy with your child and now you may not be sure how to proceed. Your child's therapist needs you; you are the expert on your child, even though you may not feel that way at first.
CHAP TER 1
The therapist is not a substitute for a missing parent or gender presence in your child's life. The developmental stage of your child will influence how he or she perceives these qualities of the therapist.
CHAP TER 2
In this book we have and will discuss various aspects of your child's therapist. We want you to think about what your child's siblings know about treatment and build on that.
CHAP TER 3
Depending on your availability and the time pressure of the therapist or intake therapist, you can schedule your appointment with your child back to back or separately. This can give you an idea of how staff view your child's problems.
CHAP TER 4
Make sure you have the contact information for your child's school and doctor ready so you can share it with the therapist. It's important to think about how you and your child feel in the office space.
CHAP TER 5
It will help the child more if you like the therapist and communicate your approval and support of the relationship. As mentioned earlier, self-efficacy and pride are important aspects of a child's development at this time. If your child doesn't approve of your choice, we don't necessarily think you should change it.
Your child's therapist should encourage ambivalence because it serves such an important purpose. Your child says he or she "doesn't want to go" to therapy, and you give in. In this, the dynamics and symptoms of your child's therapy – the behavior or emotions – are amplified and appear worse as the treatment is initiated.
As you and your child move through the therapy experience, each step has its own growing "pains." We recommend that you do not try to manage these feelings and thoughts on your own; instead, talk to your child's therapist about these ideas.
CHAP TER 6
Therapists sometimes call this "metaphor play." The concept of metaphor describes the child's use of play instead of talk to express her or his thoughts and feelings. In this example, Natalie was trying to master (understand and have control over) her surroundings and herself using both types of play—conscious and subconscious. The therapist spoke to Ned, in a worried voice, saying things like, "the house is collapsing, everyone is jumping and the baby fell on his head."
Psychodynamic play therapy is based on a set of concepts that focus on the relationship—the bond and growing trust—between child and therapist as the primary structure through which problems are addressed. Every time Zachary walked into the therapist's office, he asked, "Where's the cougar?" The puma was a large hand puppet that Zachary would place the therapist on during sessions. She practiced, learned skills and ideas, and became familiar with the possible feelings that she and the "doll" might feel when interacting.
Action is a single instance of activity (ie, the act of not waking up), while behavior is a pattern of actions, the way in which one acts (ie, noisy behavior). Psychodynamic play therapy - focuses on the relationship - growing bond and trust - between child and therapist as the primary structure through which problems are addressed.
CHAP TER 7
Personality component – this refers to the child's innate nature and the nature he develops during growing up and young adulthood. Relationship/Attachment Component—This refers to the nature of the child's close relationships and ways of interacting with these individuals. Matching refers to how well the parent's personality and the child's personality work together to form a successful relationship.
Bio-developmental component – this refers to the child's psychosocial stage of development, his or her physical development and the interrelationship between the two. Environmental component – this refers to the family system and the child's living situation at the micro level (home, school, culture) and at the macro level (urban, rural, cultural norms). It is common for there to be disagreement among professionals about your child's diagnosis.
Relationship/attachment component – refers to the nature of a child's close relationships and the ways in which he or she interacts with these individuals. Environmental component – refers to the family system and the child's living situation at the micro level (home, school, culture) and at the macro level.
CHAP TER 8
It is more important that the work of the engagement phase be complete, because moving to the work phase (where the changes take place) is dependent on the successful establishment of the core needs of the therapeutic relationship. To use another metaphorical image, think of it like a picture frame—anything on the canvas belongs within the structure of the therapy or the therapeutic relationship with the therapist. Creating the rules of the frame creates the atmosphere of mutual respect and trust among.
Day and Time—Day of the week and time of day of the session. Session at the beginning of the week or at the end of the week in terms of the child's needs, focus, problems. This is an important aspect of the framework—that therapists do not have a monopoly on creating or maintaining the therapeutic framework.
The involvement phase describes the creation of the therapeutic relationship between your child and the therapist. It is important that the work of the engagement phase be complete, because moving to the next phase of therapy (where the changes take place) is dependent on the successful establishment of the solid foundation of the therapeutic relationship.
CHAP TER 9
If you want to trust any result, we suggest that you first do your own research on the treatment offered and then ask questions of the individuals on your child's treatment team. However, we do not believe it is appropriate for these entities to decide the length or type of therapy for your child. Being aware of possible external influences allows you to make informed decisions when planning your child's treatment.
This brings the conversation to the heart of creating an action plan to address your child's problems. A treatment plan is a sequence of steps designed to address your child's problems. Long-term goals tend to focus on the fundamental issues that are hindering your child's functioning or on your child's underlying strengths that need to be supported.
This type of plan also includes a flexible, adaptable, and changing view of your child's mental health treatment—a child may improve and/or slip based on the interaction between different components of his or her life and. Long-term goals focus on the underlying issues (sense of self, anxiety, confidence, control, impulsivity) that are barriers to your child's ability to function and your child's underlying strengths that need to be supported.
CHAP TER 10
Your child's therapy can set you on a path to feeling like a stronger, more confident parent. Your child's therapist can guide you in ways to incorporate these memories into your parenting choices. It starts with you and continues through your various interactions with your child and your child's therapist.
The proactive role is twofold: (1) gather information about yourself as a child, paying specific attention to your responses to your relationships with your parents; and (2) share this information with your child's therapist. We will say that the more your child's therapist knows about you, the more complete his or her understanding of your child can be. Sharing personal information with your child's therapist will of course take place once sufficient trust has been established.
This is not a questionnaire that you should fill out in order for your child's therapy to be successful. The more your child's therapist knows about you, the more complete her or his understanding of your child can be.
CHAP TER 11
His mother told the therapist that he didn't need a protector, and the therapist agreed. One-on-one parent-child meeting (called a joint meeting) – In this type of meeting, the parents and child meet with the therapist together. During a joint session, the therapist's identified client changes from your child to a parent-child relationship.
The therapist minimizes this possibility by seeing the child and the parent as a unit for the purposes of the joint session. The increased structure that the therapist-parent contact provides conveys to your child that you are keeping him safe. The therapist's work is focused on obtaining the consent of your child in non-emergency situations.
Consent is essential to maintaining trust in the (nurturing, supportive) environment created by the relationship between your child and the therapist. In emergency situations, the therapist must still obtain your child's express consent to have contact with you.
CHAP TER 12
Sometimes this happens proactively – the therapist has a plan in place before the start of a session – or it happens reactively – the therapist chooses to address a problem that has arisen. The therapist conducts a therapeutic intervention: the therapist uses the treatment goals to develop clinically based communication with your child. Jackson replied, "You can buy more blocks for next time." The therapist decided that working within this boundary would be the focus of this part of the therapy.
Child responds to the therapist's intervention - the therapeutic intervention makes your child communicate with the therapist. The therapist responds to the child's response - the therapist communicates to your child based on your child's reactions and reactions to the intervention. The therapist reflects on the exchange between therapist and child - the therapist considers what has happened in the relationship.
Neville's anger flashed and he yelled at the therapist, "STOP ASKING ME THAT WHEN YOU ASK ME IT MAKES ME ANGRY!" The therapist responded by calmly saying, “I'm sorry you're angry about what I asked. In therapy there are moments of understanding and understanding along the way, but all transformation – the true integration of the therapeutic.
