Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents
Psychotherapy is a type of mental treatment that involves a therapist and a child or family having therapeutic dialogues and interactions. It can assist children and families in understanding and resolving difficulties, changing behaviour, and making positive life changes. Different approaches, strategies, and interventions are used in different types of psychotherapy. A combination of different therapeutic approaches may be beneficial at times. A combination of medication and psychotherapy may be more successful in other circumstances.
Different types of psychotherapy:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) aids in the understanding and acceptance of a child’s underlying emotions. ACT therapists help children and teens move forward positively by helping them gain a better awareness of their emotional challenges.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) examines confusing or skewed thought processes to enhance a child’s moods, anxieties, and behaviour. Children are taught by CBT therapists that their thoughts produce feelings and moods, which can influence their behaviour. A patient learns to recognise detrimental thought patterns with CBT. The therapist then assists them in replacing these thoughts with more acceptable sentiments and behaviours. CBT is useful in treating a range of illnesses, including depression and anxiety, according to research. Children who have experienced traumatic events can benefit from specialised versions of CBT.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can be used to treat older teenagers who experience suicidal feelings or ideas on a regular basis, engage in self-harming acts on purpose, or have borderline personality disorder. DBT encourages people to take responsibility for their problems and to explore how they deal with conflict and significant negative emotions. This usually entails a mix of group and individual training.
Family Therapy explores communication patterns and provides assistance and education to help families function in more positive and constructive ways. The kid or teenager, as well as parents, siblings, and grandparents, may participate in family therapy sessions. Couples Therapy is a sort of family therapy that focuses on the communication and interactions of a pair (for example, parents suffering marital problems).
Group Therapy is a type of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists supervise a group of patients. It harnesses the power of group dynamics and peer interactions to improve social skills and/or raise knowledge of mental illness. Group therapy comes in a variety of forms (e.g., psychodynamic, social skills, substance abuse, multi-family, parent support, etc.)
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is a quick treatment for depression that has been created and evaluated, but it can also be used to treat a range of other clinical disorders. IPT therapists are interested in how interpersonal situations influence a person’s emotional state. Individual problems are framed in terms of interpersonal connections, and subsequently, problematic relationships are addressed.
Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) entails assisting children and teenagers who are unsure of who they are. MBT is dedicated to assisting youngsters in becoming healthy adults.
Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) involves real-time coaching sessions to aid parents and children who are having challenges with behaviour or relationships. While therapists guide families toward positive interactions, parents interact with their children.
Play Therapy Toys, blocks, dolls, puppets, drawings, and games are used to assist the youngster in recognising, identifying, and verbalising feelings. To comprehend the child’s problems, the psychotherapist analyses how the youngster uses play materials and looks for themes or patterns. The child can better understand and regulate their disputes, feelings, and behaviour by using a combination of discourse and play.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Understanding what motivates and influences a child’s behaviour, thoughts, and feelings is emphasised. It can assist in the identification of a child’s usual behaviour patterns, defences, and responses to internal tensions and struggles. Psychoanalysis is a special, more intensive kind of psychodynamic psychotherapy that typically entails multiple weekly sessions. Psychodynamic psychotherapies work on the notion that once a child’s underlying difficulties are revealed, his or her behaviour and feelings will improve.
Supportive Therapy provides children and teenagers with the tools they need to cope with stress, identify helpful and unhelpful behaviours, and boost their self-esteem.
Source:
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
