Many children and young people who come for therapy are either diagnosed with a form of neurodivergence or they / their parents suspect this to be the case. This includes ASD, ADHD and OCD. Sometimes there is a struggle to manage the demands of school or college or negotiate peer relationships, manage sensory overload or certain textures (such as clothing, school uniform etc.)

Psychotherapy can be a helpful approach because it can help equip children and young people to manage their own states of mind and behaviours better, to be more aware of their triggers and to be better equipped at putting feelings into words. They can be supported to unpick challenging situations and work out the elements that are in their control, to take charge of the things where they can make a difference. Every child or young person is different, and psychotherapy treats each as an individual, exploring together what is helpful in managing the demands faced in their day to day life.

For some children and young people there may be a new diagnosis that can take some adjusting to, and some of the work may be around this. Parents might consult a child psychotherapist for support with helping their child to adjust to their differences and be able to manage this as well as possible.

For children and young people with symptoms that either look like OCD or where there is a formal diagnosis of OCD, therapy can both help explore the underlying fears and anxieties that might be contributing to the behaviours, and also in parallel can gradually challenge the behaviours so that they can reduce, stop or at least not dominate life to the same extent.

When your child comes for therapy they will find lots of fidget and sensory toys available to use. There is no expectation that your child can sit still, put things into words or “behave well”. The therapy is adjusted to their individual needs and preferred ways of communicating or being in the room.

Amazing things Happen is a video developed by the National Autistic Society to help explain autism to children

see also the Useful Links page for relevant resources & groups that might be of interest