Psychological counseling for children

Child mental health counseling can be carried out through parent-child communication, emotional management training, game therapy, psychological education courses, professional psychological counseling, and other methods. Psychological problems in children may be caused by changes in family environment, academic pressure, social difficulties, physiological development factors, mental illnesses, and other factors.

1. Parent child communication

Establishing an open and equal dialogue environment helps children express their true feelings. Parents should schedule a fixed time every day to communicate with their children, avoid using judgmental language, and focus on listening to children's descriptions of school life and peer relationships. When children exhibit withdrawal or irritable behavior, nonviolent communication techniques can be used to help them use language as a substitute for behavior to vent their emotions.

2. Emotional management training

helps children recognize complex emotions through non-verbal methods such as drawing and sandplay. Guide children to use visual tools such as emotional thermometers to record daily mood fluctuations, combined with relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and mindfulness meditation. For children with prominent aggressive behavior, role-playing games can be used to simulate conflict scenarios and train alternative solutions.

3. Play therapy

Therapists establish therapeutic alliances through media such as building blocks and dolls, and observe children's subconscious projections during the game process. Symbolic games can help children who have experienced trauma rebuild their sense of security, while rule-based games can improve the behavioral control of children with attention deficit. Parents need to cooperate to complete the parent-child interactive game homework assigned by the therapist every week.

4. Psychological Education Curriculum

Schools should offer adaptive courses to teach stress coping strategies, including time management, refusal skills training, and other content. Adopting scenario simulation teaching to cultivate children's self-protection ability in response to special situations such as campus bullying. The curriculum should be designed based on the cognitive characteristics of different age groups. Young children should focus on reading emotional picture books together, while older grades can introduce the concept of simple cognitive-behavioral therapy.

5. Professional Psychological Counseling

When children continue to experience sleep disorders, eating abnormalities, or self injurious behavior, they should be promptly referred to a pediatric psychiatrist. Psychological counseling may involve methods such as sandplay therapy and family system therapy, and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should receive behavior correction training. Children with severe depression or anxiety may require short-term adjuvant medication, but must strictly follow medical advice. Parents should maintain a regular family routine to ensure that their children have sufficient physical activity time every day. Pay attention to supplementing deep-sea fish, nuts and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids in diet, and limit the intake of high sugar snacks. Regularly organize outdoor activities for families to avoid excessive use of electronic devices by children. If a child is found to have sustained low mood or abnormal behavior for more than two weeks, it is recommended to seek professional psychological assessment in a timely manner. Establish a two-way communication mechanism between schools and families to track and record long-term psychological changes in children.