I work with children and adolescents, who present difficulties in social relations, emotional regulation and learning.
I offer specialized Educational Therapy for children who have Neuro-developmental challenges including Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) .
Child and Adolescent
Counselling
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I provide a play therapy setting, a talk therapy setting or combined according to the needs and the age of the child.
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For children under the age of 16, I request to meet first with the parent(s) to hear his/her concerns about the child.
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Then, I carry out the first 3 sessions with the child as an initial evaluation, devoted to understanding the difficulties from the child’s perspective and to see if counselling can be a best support.
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After the assessment sessions, I will ask for a second meeting with the parent(s) to share my understanding of the child and to discuss about a possible treatment plan if applicable.
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During treatment, the session takes place once a week for 50min. For children under the age of 12, the parent(s) are also requested to meet with the counselor once a month during the child’s ongoing treatment period. In this meeting, we can discuss about the current concerns at home or at school and also monitor together the progress of the counselling I proceed with the child.
＊ For further information, do not hesitate to contact me.
Mentalization-Based Treatment for Children
What is MBT-C?
Mentalization-Based Treatment is an evidence-based clinical approach derived from attachment theory to help individuals grow his/her capacity to mentalize, thus to understand the behaviors of self and others in terms of thoughts, intentions and feelings behind them in order to improve one’s emotional life (reducing anxity and stress) and the quality of interpersonal relationships (opening the channel for social learning).
Who is MBT-C for?
It is suitable for children and adolescents with a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties, primarily for affective or anxiety issues, mild or moderate behaviour problems. It is also suitable for children and adolescents who are in transitional period, such as parental divorce, migration or bereavement. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or learning difficulties can also benefit from this approach as it promotes their mentalizing capacity around interpersonal communication, specific learning challenges, as well as their strengths.
How do we proceed?
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Initial meetings: What are the difficulties your child faces? What are the issues at home/ school? What would you wish to improve in your child's life? We’ll take 2-3 sessions (both with the child and with the parents) to understand the issues to be treated, followed by the discussion of whether or not this particular method is appropriate for your child's concerns.
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Focus formulation: We will then specify the focus of our work, thus what it is that we identify as a difficulty the child has and what we will be working on with her/him.
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Sessions and revisions: We’ll start working with the child, applying specific methods of MBT for approximately 11 sessions (once a week for about 3 months) and also in parallel working with the parent(s) for 5 sessions (every other week for about 3 months), and at the end of the period we will meet again and evaluate the outcome and see if continued treatment is necessary.
For more information about MBT-C :https://manuals.annafreud.org/mbt-c/index.html
＊ For further information, do not hesitate to contact me.
Educational Therapy
Children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) or other communication difficulties often find it stressful to be in social situations, including day care or schools. The environment gets even more stressful and sometimes hostile for the child when his/ her difficulties are not properly understood and addressed accordingly by others. As a consequence, children with such difficulties, over time, tend to develop secondary issues, such as depression or low self-esteem. These issues are harder to tackle when their notion of outside world and communicating with others have already developed into something negative. For this reason, early educational intervention is recommended for children to learn to communicate better with others (and to enjoy it!) at early stage of their social life and to subsequently learn that he/ she is an individual, who deserves to be loved and cared for just like any of their peers.
What is Educational Therapy ?
In Child Counselling, play is understood in the context of the children’s fantasies and symbolical communications, where their emotions and thoughts are often expressed more freely and fluently than in verbal communication.
In Educational Therapy, play is considered as a one-on-one learning opportunity for children to relate to others. The counsellor focuses on the child’s strengths and difficulties in his/her capacity to communicate, and always encourages the child to be active in relating to others by engaging him/her in communicative play. The cognitive and relational development of the child observed in the course of therapy is regularly shared with the parents through periodical feedback reports and parents’ consultations.
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I request to meet first with the parent(s) to hear the concerns about the child and the difficulties observed in the child’s social and/or family life.
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Then, I provide initial evaluation sessions with the child to understand the cognitive difficulties the child might have and to assess if educational therapy can best meet the child’s needs.
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After the evaluation, I will ask for a second meeting with the parent(s) to give my feedback on the child’s developmental issues and to discuss about a possible educational therapy program if applicable.
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During the ongoing period, the session takes place once a week for 50 min. The parents are also requested to meet with the counsellor for parents’ consultations to monitor and follow the progress of the child together.
*Please provide the related assessment or medical reports done by professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists or speech therapists) if the child has any.
＊ For further information, do not hesitate to contact me.
Parental Support
Dear Parents,
There is an African proverb that says “it takes the whole village to raise one child”. In the human history, the community has always worked together and collaborated to raise a child. Although our modern life style and global mobility tend to give us quite a different picture for our child rearing environment, the Child-Parent Counselling hopes to serve as a member of your village to think together and collaborate in your journey with your child.
Developmental consultations
When you have some concerns about your child’s emotional and psychological growth, I can provide you with the parent-child consultations to discuss how best we can best support your child to reach her/his potentials. I can also provide developmental assessment, when necessary, to explore how best we can support her/him.
Drop-ins
Just like a standard health check at your home doctor's, we can set a time periodically to check in and discuss about your child’s growth and any concerns you might have at each stage of your child's growing up to ensure her/his healthy emotional and psychological growth.
Parental counselling
Child rearing is a big challenge for any parent. If you have experienced difficult childhood yourself or been experiencing any emotional distress at the time, the challenge can be overwhelming. The children’s best support always comes from you and your well-being. Taking the time and being able to reflect on your own emotional and psychological experiences has been found to have enormously positive impact on child’s growth (Fonagy 1991). Do not hesitate to reach out for help. Your well-being is everyone's priority.
Fonagy P, Steele H, Steele M. 1991. "Maternal Representations of Attachment during Pregnancy Predict the Organization of Infant-Mother Attachment at One Year of Age." Child Development (University of Chigago Press) 62 (5): 891-905.
＊ For further information, do not hesitate to contact me.