How to realize your child needs a psychologist. 8 warning signs

How to realize your child needs a psychologist. 8 warning signs

The doctor told us in what cases it is necessary to seek help, and in what cases it is possible not to panic.

Modern parents try to pay maximum attention to the development of children and at the same time are very afraid of mistakes in this matter. Many adults are sure that their parents were not properly engaged in education, and all the problems – straight from childhood. No wonder they want to bring up their children differently.

Candidate of Medical Sciences, doctor of integrative, preventive and conventional medicine, nutriciologist

But difficult children have been around at all times. The opinion that now there are more of them is an illusion. Today in the information space began to focus more often on mental disorders, diseases have become better diagnosed, and specialists began to use new methods of work.

It is important for parents to perceive the peculiarities of their child’s development comprehensively. If the child is afraid of strangers, sharp sounds, but at the same time he actively plays, shows interest in everything new and unknown, in this case there is no need to consult a psychologist.

Most likely, this is just a feature of the nervous system of the child. Do not panic if the development and behavior do not correspond to the norm – this does not always indicate a problem. It is necessary to add two or three months, monitoring the development of the child in dynamics.

In what cases it is necessary to consult a psychologist

• Sleep disorders – fear of sleeping alone, nightmares, anxiety;
• the appearance of symptoms of mental disorder – nervous tics, urinary incontinence, stuttering;
• aggression is another of the main reasons to consult a psychologist, regardless of whether it is directed at oneself or at others;
• if a school-age child has become secretive, closed to communication, his behavior has changed;
• psychological traumas – divorce of parents, death of a close person, a pet, a change of school, and in some cases a new addition to the family;
• unexplained mood swings, unjustified fears;
• problems with adaptation to certain rules established in the family, educational institution, kindergarten;
• protest behavior, tantrums, conflicts with which parents cannot cope.

The minimum age when a psychologist can start individual work with a child is three years. Earlier than this age it is possible to work only in pairs with the mother. In adolescence, as early as 12-13 years old, children can independently realize whether they need the help of a psychologist.

In the process of child development, stable periods are replaced by crises: 1-1.5 years, the period between two and four years, the crisis of seven years (the period between six and eight years), adolescence (12-15 years) and adolescence (from 17 years). It is during times of crisis that parents often need the help of a professional.

A psychologist can help when a child is uncommunicative, lacks self-confidence, secretive, often capricious, deceitful, does not obey and has no authority, avoids communication with other children.

Consultation with a psychologist will help to understand why the problem has arisen, how to cope with it. Parents can share with the specialist their fears and anxieties related to the process of upbringing, and discuss problems in the family. Children are quite emotionally sensitive.

The stress that parents feel can be transmitted to children. If mom and dad are nervous, worried, the child also begins to worry, which affects his emotional state. Therefore, sometimes parents need to start with themselves and, having solved their own problems, go with the child to a psychologist.