Working with
Children

Providing expert professional help to children, young people and their parents facing emotional and behavioural challenges.

Working With Children

Hello

My name is Margaret, and I am a child psychotherapist working with children and young people who are struggling with difficult feelings, that have become very stuck and feel too much to cope with. Child psychotherapists are there to help, by looking at things from the child’s point of view, working together to look for clues to understand and work on why this has come about. Often strong feelings and maybe things in your life have got in a big muddle and need unravelling, like unpicking knotted threads or ribbons, before things get better.

I like to think in stories, so I often explain the work of psychotherapy as me in my sailing boat coming past you on your island.  We wave at each other, and I say “Hello, are you OK?  Would it be all right if I come onto your island and we look around together?”   If your answer is yes, then you would show me around, and I would introduce myself as someone who has done a lot of exploring of other islands [helping other children] but each island is different.  Often there are undiscovered places so it can be so helpful to have a look together and work things out.

I like this explanation as it is very clear that the child and the therapist need to work together to bring about change.  At your pace and in your own way … through talking, or not, through playing, drawing, or being quiet or whatever works for you.  All I ask is that you bring yourself … sad, angry, polite, shouty or however it may be in the moment.   It is a place that is private, though I do meet with parents as they need their time too, where I tell them what I think, but not what you do in your appointments.

There is a leaflet to click on in the Links below called “A guide to psychotherapy for children” which explains things in more detail.