Amity Institute of Behavioural & Allied Sciences

Child Counselling

Submitted to :- Dr. khusboo

Submitted by :- Shubham ojha
Assistance professor
MA (Applied psy.)
(AIBAS) 2nd
semester
 Amity Institute of Behavioural & Allied Sciences

What is the child counselling?

• child counselling is a type of therapy that focuses on young

children, teens with one or more mental illnesses.
• It is also provided aid to youth, who have experienced
trauma, and who are experiencing dysfunctional or stressful
home environment.
• Many of the issues these children face mimic the issues adults
face in their day-to-day lives.
• Some of the common issues include Anxiety, depression,
grief.
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Who are the Child Counselors?

• Child counselors are mental health specialists, who offer

invaluable insight into your child’s social and emotional
development and mental health.
• These individuals have the knowledge and experience to
recognize, identify, pinpoints, diagnosis and treat a wide range of
mental health conditions, adjustments issues(divorce, new school,
bullying etc.)and psychological distress.
• Child counselors also sometimes referred to as child therapist and
child psychologist, so they can help them make sense of what is
going on their minds, bodies, lives
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What are the Functions of Child counselors?

• Child counselors perform many services to vulnerable youth.
• It is the important to understand that children, who are suffering
from mental health issues and psychological distress, may not
share these concern with their parents.
• Therefore, the aim of child counselors is to help children better
interrupt the issues they are experiencing and the trauma that
occurred.
• When a child’s social and emotional issues and psychological
distress are left untreated. It can negatively impact his/her
educational and developmental milestones.
• Ultimately, this form of counselling aims to help children work
through their emotions, so they can live normal healthy lives
without the lasting effect of fear, confusion, anxiety, trauma.
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What Kinds of issues Do child Counselors Treat

• Well, Child Counselors treat a variety of issues. For instance, they
treat children who have experienced trauma or upsetting events
like the loss of a parents, pet, loved one, siblings, home etc. And
they also treat children, who have witnessed or experienced abuse
or intimidation.
• Basically, child counselors treat any issues that cause children
social or emotional distress and or any mental health condition
that is affecting a child's life.
• Some of the most common issues that child counselors treat
include:
• Divorce/ Bullying
• Sexual, emotional, and physical abuse.
• Family substance abuse or addiction.
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What are the Some common goals of counselling

• Common goals of child counselling vary, depending on the
child’s issues.
• It typically focused on the address issues in a child’s life that are
significant impacting his/her growth, development, mental
health, and well-being.
• Therefore, a common goal of child counseling is helping
your child successfully cope with challenging situations that
trigger the following emotions.
• Anxiety
• Trauma
• Divorce
• Grief / Change
• Low self-esteem &Self confidence
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What are the Different Types of Treatment

• There are different types of child counseling, such as

• Cognitive behavior therapy(CBT)

• is to help children change negative thoughts patterns and behaviors.
The aim is to help children convert negative thoughts into more
positive ones.
• CBT can help children learn to control:
• self-defeating thoughts
• impulsivity
• Defiance
• Tantrums
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• Trauma-Focused cognitive-Behavioral Therapy(TF-CBT)

is to help children heal from the effect of trauma, similar to
CBT these counselor teach children how to view trauma in a
more realistic manner.
• components-
a) Psychoeducation
b) Parenting skills
c) Stress management skills
d) parents child sessions/ trauma narration
• Alternatives Therapy A child, who is experienced mental
health issues may benefit from alternative therapies like music
and art therapy, exercise, sports therapy, movement therapy
etc.
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What is Family Therapy/Family Counseling

• Family therapy or family counseling is a form of treatment that is
designed to address specific issues affecting the health and
functioning of a family.
• It can be used to help a family through a difficulties period, a
major transition, or mental or behavioral health problems in
family members.
• Behavioral or emotional in children are common reasons to visit
a family therapist. A child problems do not exist in a vacuum;
they exist, and will likely need to be addressed.
• It should be noted that in family therapy or counseling, the term
family” does not necessarily mean blood relatives. In this context
family is anyone who plays a long term supportive role in
ones’s life .
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This trains therapists for guidance with a wide range of

problems, including:

• Personal conflicts within couples or families;

• Unexpected illness, death, or unemployment;
• Developing or maintaining a healthy romantic relationship
at any stage;
• Behavioral problems in children;
• Divorce or separation;
• Substance abuse or addiction;
• Mental health problems like depression and anxiety
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Family therapy system

Murray Bowen's family systems theory said that families act as
units, not as individual people or relationships. He used his theory to
explain why some people end up with psychological issues. The eight
key concepts relating to his theory are: Differentiation of the self.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF FAMILY SYSTEMS THERAPY

• Family systems therapy is based on Murray Bowen's family
systems theory, which holds that individuals are inseparable from
their network of relationship.
• Bowen introduced family systems theory in the late 1960s after
years of research into the family patterns of people with
Schizophrenia who were receiving treatment and the patterns of his
own family of origin. 11
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EIGHT INTERLOCKING CONCEPTS OF FAMILY

SYSTEMS THEORY

• Differentiation 
• An emotional triangle 
• The family projection process,
• The multigenerational transmission process,
• An emotional cut off
• Sibling position 
• The societal emotional process
• The nuclear family emotional process
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Differences Between Systemic and Individual

Approaches

A case may help to illustrate these differences. Ann, age 22, sees a
counselor because she is suffering from a depression that has lasted
for more than two years and has impaired her ability to maintain
friendships and work productively. She wants to feel better, but she is
pessimistic about her chances. How will a therapist choose to help
her? Both the individual therapist and the systemic therapist are
interested in Ann’s current living situation and life experiences.

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Differences Between Systemic and Individual

Approaches
• There are significant differences between individual therapeutic
approaches and systemic approaches.

• The individual therapist

a) Focus on obtaining an accurate diagnosis, perhaps using the
DSM-5
b) Begin therapy with Ann immediately
c) Focus on the causes, purposes, and cognitive, emotional, and
behavioral processes involved in Ann’s depression and coping
d) Be concerned with Ann’s individual experiences and perspectives
e) Intervene in ways designed to help Ann cope 14
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The systemic therapist

• Explore the system for family process and rules, perhaps using a
genogram.
• Invite Ann’s mother, father, and sister into therapy with her.
• Focus on the family relationships within which the continuation
of Ann’s depression “makes sense”
• Be concerned with transgenerational meanings, rules, cultural,
and gender perspectives within the system, and even the
community and larger systems affecting the family
• Intervene in ways designed to help change Ann’s context

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Some common types of family therapy

• Bowenian: This form of therapy focuses on two areas:
triangulation and differentiation.
• Triangulation involves the tendencies we have to involve a third
party when something is going wrong in our lives. We feel better
when someone else takes our side. Although this momentarily
aleves anxiety, it is usually not a healthy response to a
disagreement because it alienates the other person. If you are a
person that struggles with triangulation, you might do this as a
way to divert anxiety or conflict.
• For example, when you get into an argument with a close friend
or family member, you may call a parent or close friend to vent
about the issue and ask for help. The third person helps you to
calm yourself and gives you tips on how to resolve the issue.
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• Differentiation is something that your therapist will help you

to work on internally as well. Many people who seek out family
therapy are struggling with issues that are brought on by how
they see the world. They may be exhibiting explosive emotional
behavior as a result of this and are not sure how to handle their
feelings or views.
• The goal of differentiation is to free oneself from these
struggles. It is the process of learning how to form your own
opinions and live your life in a way that is free from the
negative influences of your family. There is also emphasis
placed on doing this in a way that allows you to continue with
healthy and strong relationships with your family members as
well.
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• Systemic : The main concept behind this form of therapy is that

conflict within the family comes from interlocked issues that are beneath
the surface. This is to say that we have connections and conflicts that
happen on a subconscious level that could be causing many of the family
issues that we experience.
• Unlike Structural Family Therapy, Systemic Family Therapy does not
believe power can belong to one person or a group of people within the
family unit. According to this discipline, the power lies in the
unconscious "game" that each family member takes part in. The idea is
that this "game" perpetuates problems and does so without making itself
known to the people participating.
• If you choose to engage in systemic family therapy, your counselor or
therapist will help you to unravel and uncover the subconscious issues
and bring them out into the open. He or she will help you to understand
the cycles or rituals (I.E. "games") that you are participating in. Once
you bring the problems to the surface, they are more easily dealt with.
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• Strategic family therapy is perfect for families that want a quick

approach to solving their problems in a short period of time. This
therapy works by using specific methods that are tailored specifically
toward the problems that you and your family are struggling with.
• If you see a therapist that practices strategic family therapy, you may
find this person to be more like a coach or a referee than a licensed
professional. The premise of this type of therapy does not concern itself
with where you have been or what you have gone through. The goal is to
figure out where you are now and make a plan to address and solve the
problem quickly and efficiently.
• Your treatment plan will begin by identifying problems that can be fixed.
You will then move on to setting goals and your therapist will work out
pathways for you to be able to reach those goals. Once you get to this
point, your therapist will observe the response you and your family
shows to meeting these goals, and finally it will be time to observe the
outcome of the therapy as a whole.
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• Structural Family Therapy

• This form of therapy is most commonly used in situations where a child is
involved. The therapist will begin by drawing a chart of your family, and noting
how the relationships are between each of you. Once positions of power are
identified, your therapist can identify what changes need to be made in order to
fix the problems that you are experiencing.
• In order to successfully treat a child, the full cooperation of the parents and other
members of the family is always required. This method of therapy was developed
based on the belief that the root of many childhood problems comes not from the
child himself, but from issues within the family unit that go unsolved.
• The idea of structural family therapy is to restructure the family once issues are
identified. Your therapist could have you participate in role-plays, acting out
problematic situations that occurred in the months or weeks prior to your session.
At times, the therapist may appear to be taking sides. This is a method used in an
effort to break up negative patterns and to promote a more healthy family
dynamic.
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What is the Goal of Family therapy

• The goal of family therapy is to work together to heal any
mental, emotional, or psychological problems tearing of your
family apart .
• To guide a family towards a healthy life, family therapist aim
to aid people in improving communication, solving family
problems, and creating a better functioning home
environment.
• The goals of family therapy depends on the presenting
problems of the clients.
• For example, goals may differ based on the following
scenarios. 21
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What are the Benefits of Family Therapy

• In family therapy, families can work on their problems with
the guidance of a mental health professional in a safe
controlled environment.

• A better understanding of healthy boundaries and family

patterns and dynamics.
• Enhanced communication.
• Improved problem solving.
• Deeper empathy.
• Reduced conflict and better anger management skills.
• Helping families members forgive each others.
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Any Question