Child Therapy
The Challenges of Emotions
There are times in most of our lives when we experience distressing events and feelings which seem to have no end or solution is sight. Sometimes we know that our feelings are due to particular circumstances, at other times we may have no idea what is making us feel the way we do; all we know is that our lives have become uncomfortable, difficult or even seem intolerable.
If our anxiety becomes too great, we can be triggered into making hasty decisions, which we often regret. We may act on advice with which we may not whole heartedly agree with – and then we have to live with the consequences.
As early as the eighth week of intrauterine life the initial differences between male and female children will become recognisable and long before the birth the future infant is already stamped with an individuality. Every child is born with potentialities which are particular to him or her and each child has a unique pattern of growth, determined by these potentialities, and by the fate of the environment.
Childrens Milestones
Children go through thousands of milestones from birth to adulthood. We often take for granted how much progress they make. At the age of five, children have already come a long way. They climbed a mountain in life and are no longer a ‘mere baby’, they are a ‘little lady’ or a ‘little man’, they are more independent at home and are even ready for community life by attending school full time!
At nine boys and girls alike are amazingly self-dependent. Their self-reliance at this age has grown and at the same time they have acquired intensified group feelings. Identification with the same juvenile group promotes the complex process of detachment from the domestic family group.
By the age of ten, the tendency towards segregation is well defined. Girls, somewhat earlier than boys, enter into the pre-pubertal period – marked by changes in body proportions and metabolism. These are very puzzling times for children and it may seem to happen earlier than parents and they themselves expect it.
Now, more than ever, children and young people are facing challenges and difficulties that affect how they feel about themselves and others. The way we feel about ourselves and those around us affects our behaviour and ability to learn. Our therapy is a type of treatment which focuses on these problems. Therapy can be a very effective way to help your child achieve the best of their potential and flourish. In therapy, children talk and learn how to work out their challenges.
“Our aim is to make a significant difference to children’s success and happiness. Our work will put our approach for children’s emotions into context for this modern world. With the fast pace of this generation, building emotionally intelligent and resilient children is becoming more crucial than ever.” Ines Gomes
Child Therapy Sessions
The first step in our child therapy is to build a strong rapport with the child. We do this in an informal way. Mostly at their favourite place, The Feelings Teacher will go through many questions about their likes, dislikes, family, what makes them happy, sad and what their goals are.
Once we have built a strong rapport and understanding of the child we will get to work collaboratively with the child. We will help them learn about themselves. Our child therapy doesn’t focus on their behaviour, instead we learn what lies beneath, their thoughts, feelings and unmet needs. Understanding how the brain works, how emotions are related to behaviour, learning about their unique physiological symptoms and how to move through those feelings is key to unlocking the potential that lies within.
Affiliations
In order to educate and empower the child we combine a series of strategies used by many speech and language, occupational therapist, counsellors and psychologists. We also have affiliation with other companies which support, endorse and work collaboratively with The Feelings Teacher.
Widgit Symbols
Part of being as inclusive as possible, means we often create our resources and training material using Widgit Symbols. Symbols are used worldwide to support people and help them achieve their full potential independent of their age, ability or background. Widgit Symbols development project started in October 2000 and The Feelings Teacher has been a widgit centre since February 2019.
Widgit Centres are a network of organisations which offer advice and support on Widgit Products.
GoZen
GoZen! creates online social and emotional learning programs loved by kids ages 5-15, parents, professionals, and schools. Our mission is to reach 1 million kids with skills to transform stress, anxiety, worry, anger, perfectionism, negativity, and social worry into POWER in the year 2020! We don’t help kids manage challenging feelings, we help them transform them into confidence, courage, and resilience! We’re basically emotional alchemists.
With their fun characters, cartoon animations and related worksheets GoZen makes explaining neuroscience, engaging mindfulness far easier and accessible for children.
Emotion Coaching UK
Emotion Coaching UK was founded by Licette Gus, Louise Gilbert and Janet Rose in 2011. They are a well established research and training deveopment organization.
Ines Gomes has been a practitioner trainer since 2019. As a trainer, she is able to train others in the Emotion Coaching UK principle programme. Learning about empathy and how it’s developed has a big impact on children’s emotional development.
Children who receive emotion coaching were seen to have developed intra-personal emotional competencies as well as interpersonal skills. Culminating on improved emotional wellbeing and positive changes including language, interaction with others, social communication and most of all, the ability to regulate their behaviour when necessary. Children become kinder and comply better with everyday routines and procedures.
Lego® based Therapy
Lego® based therapy was first introduced as a social development program for children with an Autism Spectrum diagnosis or other social communication difficulties. The feelings teacher uses Lego therapy to develop the child’s social skills independent of diagnosis, children love to play with Lego® besides, it helps children to learn turn taking, sharing, listening, teamwork, conversation and problem-solving.
When children play with Lego®, they’re more likely to interact with each other through collaborative play. Children develop an array of skills such as verbal and non-verbal communication, identifying colours, positional language, shapes and increased attention span.
The Feelings Teacher developed techniques that can be used during one to one sessions, getting children confident enough before going into a group. All resources such as visuals, training material are created by us.
Please contact us for a training or resources pack.
Child Therapy Goals
Our goal is to have your child feeling more confident, comfortable in their own skin, flexible and happier. We don’t just work with the children, we encourage and nurture parents and carers so they too will become more confident, educated and empowered.
How Does It work?
Child therapy initially involves:
- Children learning about themselves
- Identifying the difficulties they may have
- Developing emotional literacy including their interoceptive system
- Exploring their senses and how it could be used to support self-regulation
Strategies are then developed to help overcome the identified issues. We set small and achievable targets which are reviewed on a regular basis with the family. Those targets are known as SMART Goals.
SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Therefore, a SMART goal incorporates all of these criteria to help focus your efforts and increase the chances of achieving that goal. SMART goals are: Specific: Well defined, clear, and unambiguous.
We can Help Children and Young People with Issues like:
- Family problems: divorce, re-location, transitions
- Low self-esteem
- Bullying
- School problems
- Health problems
- Anger management
- Behaviour regulation
With what we call Uncomfortable Feelings such as:
- Sadness
- Anger
- Stress and worry
- Low self-esteem
- Grief
- Anxiety
With Conditions such as:
- Autism
- ADHD
- Social communication difficulties
- OCD
- Anxiety
- Disruptive behaviour disorders
- Trauma-related disorders
How does Therapy with The Feelings Teacher Work?
The Feelings Teacher’s approach is highly personal and nurturing. You may find our approach different to others, and you would be correct. Children are treated as individuals who are part of our Feelings Teacher family.
As all children are unique, our approach has been influenced by evidence based theories from several different neuro scientists, Psychologists and clinicians and we have built our own, flexible, tailor-made service. Our main goal is to find the best way to teach your child everything they need to know about themselves, find the triggers for their uncomfortable feelings and learn how to self-regulate when those feelings arise.
Book an Appointment
Contact us today to find out more and schedule an appointment with Ines Gomes!
