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Children and Adolescents

Children and adolescents have their own emotional needs and can often have difficulty communicating how they are feeling. Children’s behaviour is their way of showing their confusion, frustration, sadness, happiness or anger. At Futureminds we have all worked with children and adolescents in a variety of settings. Often the work is done via the Carers or parents of the child and even if the child refuses therapy those working with or living with them can learn to make positive changes to make a difference.

Nowadays both parents are often expected to work long hours and have to juggle work, childcare and running a home. Appointments with CAMHS teams are often during the day and require time out from work. Attendance at a mental health service can also be anxiety provoking for parents who recognise the stigma that can be around for such appointments. At futureminds we feel we can offer a service that Is more accessible for parents and can fit around parents busy schedules. This might be working In the home, later appointments or telephone consultation.

Self Harm

There is also a growing tendency for adolescents in particular to self harm. Self harm might be cutting, burning, taking part in risky behaviour or alcohol or substance abuse. Parents and professionals can find such behaviours very difficult to deal with creating a high level of anxiety. At futureminds we are experienced at working with young people taking part in such behaviours and can help in placing the behaviour in context and offering strategies to cope or manage the behaviour.

Many children have social and communication difficulties and some may be on the autistic spectrum. Children who are on the autism spectrum have particular needs in the way they communicate. Although we are unable to make a formal diagnosis we are experienced in making an assessment as to whether a more specialist service should be involved. Our experience when working In this area Is that on many occasions children can suffer many years of bullying and confusion before they eventually are assessed and diagnosed with autism.

Regardless of whether the child receives a diagnosis or not the behaviour still needs to be managed and we are able to offer strategies for parents and professionals to manage the behaviour of children with these particular needs.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder is a diagnosis given to children who find it difficult to concentrate. However, children can have difficulty concentrating for a variety of reasons and many parents are reluctant to give a ‘label’ to their child or give them medication. There are also many schools of thought as to whether the condition actually exists and there are strong correlations to the rise of ADHD and the increase in time spent on TV, computers, play stations etc There are also increases in expectations of children by society and increased stress levels in family life which can have an impact on a child's behaviour.

Again at futureminds we do not diagnose children but can help parents, family members and teachers develop new and helpful strategies to help the child.

When children are born they have an Innate survival Instinct which will begin with trying to find someone who will keep them safe and provide their physical needs, this Is known as forming an attachment to a primary caregiver. Sometimes things can get In the way of this attachment process such as post natal depression, Illness, family trauma or abuse. Each time a child forms an attachment and It Is broken they begin to distrust adults and start to rely only on themselves to meet their needs this is shown in challenging and sometimes aggressive behaviour. Children In local authority care or those children who have been adopted often show signs of having attachment Issues but sometimes children born Into families where other Issues (such as bereavement, Illness or depression) have resulted In a parent being emotionally unavailable can display behaviours which require a particular way of managing.

At futureminds we are all experienced In working with children with attachment difficulties.