Child Psychology in Benalmádena

To know if my child should see a psychologist, observation is very important, as children generally do not express their emotional discomfort in a very clear verbal way, but important changes in their behaviour can be observed. For example, isolation, irritability, aggressiveness, change in sleep or appetite, avoidance of activities or social situations, fears, bed-wetting, headaches, tummy aches, body aches, without a concrete physical cause or change in academic performance, are often important indicators that something of psychological relevance should be assessed. 

In other cases it is the children themselves who express a specific difficulty, for example not being able to sleep, not being able to concentrate, fear of criticism, feeling inferior and it is important to always listen to them and give space to what they are expressing and seeing a psychologist may help to determine what may be happening. 

On the other hand, as parents we often do not know how to manage parenting, limits, authority, affection, and this is a good reason to go to a child psychologist to develop parenting skills that facilitate an adequate psycho-affective development in our children.

Child therapy is a space where emotional intelligence is developed through teamwork between the psychologist, the children and the parents, who play a fundamental role.  Therefore, sessions are held with both parents and children.

It is common for children, due to their neuroplasticity and receptive capacity, to develop many emotional intelligence skills throughout the therapy and with it an evident improvement regarding the aspects that are consulted, but also at a general level. 

A very important aspect to take into account is that an improvement in our children also implies an improvement and work on our role as parents, as they are aspects that are directly related, which makes child therapy a very good opportunity to learn and improve ourselves. 

The objectives that are achieved in child psychotherapy are usually quite evident as they tend to be very specific and children have an extraordinary capacity to adapt and learn, which is why they tend to achieve them relatively quickly, all depending on the complexity of the reason for the consultation. 

An important aspect to bear in mind is that children, just like us, cannot and should not be perfect, and that in therapy we should propose realistic objectives that correspond to the stage of development in which they find themselves, for example we are not going to expect the same from a 7 year old as from a 10 year old. 

Another aspect that we often encounter is that, for example, sometimes we consult for something very specific such as night terrors, and then we expect that as a result of the therapy focused on night terrors, our children will be obedient, organised, studious, etc. and we may have the perception of no progress, because they no longer have night terrors, but they are disorderly. That is why it is important to take into account the objectives to be achieved and if, once they are achieved, other relevant aspects are to be worked on, generally with issues related to obedience, order, study, the therapy is more focused on parenting guidelines for parents.

There are several reasons for consultation which vary in their complexity but are no less important than others. 

The most common problems addressed in child therapy are the following: 

Anxiety Problems (fears, phobias, stress, nightmares, night terrors), Behavioural Problems (Impulsivity, Aggressiveness, Social Skills Deficits, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)), Academic Difficulties, Sadness, Apathy, Insecurity, Low Self-Esteem, Eating Problems, Managing high achievers, request for Psychological assessments and reports.