This section will help you to get help for your family and child, whatever the problem is.
Being a parent can be very stressful, but especially so when your child has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The most recent government statistics suggest that one in five children experiences emotional or behavioural difficulties, so these kinds of difficulties are common.
Often it can feel daunting talking to someone about an emotional well-being issue, but research shows that talking therapies are successful in treating these kinds of problems.
Our services for children are accessible from before birth, as we know that pregnancy can in itself be stressful and difficult, but especially so for parents who have already had difficult experiences such as losing a baby in pregnancy or infancy. We know that the early days with a baby can be difficult on all the family, and that sometimes feelings about infants can be complicated, and not always positive.
As children grow and have to share their parents with new arrivals, feelings can run high and a common referral to our services is families that are struggling to get on.
As children approach school age, learning, social and attention problems can become more apparent. We would encourage parents to seek help as early as possible with these kinds of difficulties, as early intervention can make a big difference in overall outcome.
At school other difficulties can occur, such as depression, anxiety, social difficulties, as well as more difficult behaviour such as anger and aggression, non-compliance and conduct disorders.
As children get older further difficulties can emerge, such as eating disorders, gender identity problems and depression. Occasionally children can start to show signs of more serious psychotic illness such as becoming very withdrawn, getting serious obsessions and 'odd' behaviour. As young people enter adulthood, relationship, drug and alcohol problems can emerge.
Difficulties in the family can impact on children (and vice versa) such as parental arguments, divorce, bereavement and other trauma such as the experience of abuse, trauma, dislocation from home, experience of war and its consequences, as well as emotional well-being difficulties in either parent.
There is a great deal of research to show that talking treatments are very effective with a range of emotional problems. The government's health body that identifies good practice, NICE (National Institute of health and Clinical Excellence), recommends talking treatments for a range of emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, phobias, obsessions, eating disorders and compulsions as well other common presenting problems.
