Child Psychology

Mental wellbeing of children, teenagers and their families

While all children and young people have ups and downs, it is common for children, teenagers and their parents to need professional help. No matter what your child or teen’s age, it is important to respond early to signs of behavioural or mental health concerns. Small changes, as early as possible, can make a big difference to children’s development and their happiness at home, school and with friends. Ramsay Psychology has a team of highly qualified and experienced psychologists to work with children, teenagers and their families.

Benefits of seeing a Psychologist

Psychologists can help children, young people and their parents/carers with:

• Professional screening, assessment and diagnosis of developmental and/or emotional concerns
• Managing mental health issues such as stress, anxiety or depression
• Coping with stressful life events, transitions, grief or trauma
• Management of challenging behaviour
• Developing social and communication skills
• Developing lifelong skills for resilience and mental wellbeing

Ramsay Psychology helps children and teenagers with their mental wellbeing, including their learning, behaviour, emotions and relationships in a range of ways including:

• individual child and teenager treatment and counselling
• parent counselling, support and education
• infant and child development and disability assessment and treatment
• assessment and support for educational and learning difficulties
• family or group therapy

Effective treatment can often involve working with parents on strategies to support their children, as well as their own mental health.

Common mental health and behavioural concerns for children and teens

Around one-in-seven children experience a significant mental health concern. This number rises to one-in-five young people between the ages of 12 and 17 experiencing high levels of psychological distress. Parents are often the first to notice developmental challenges or signs of distress in their children and almost one third of parents seek professional help for a behavioural and/or mental health challenge of their child.

Challenges in infancy requiring professional support include developmental delays and disorders (such as autism), attachment difficulties and severe fussiness or distress. By toddlerhood, common mental health challenges in children include emotional problems such as anxiety, and disruptive behaviour problems such as attention deficits, hyperactivity and defiance.

Mental health and behaviour issues sometimes emerge for primary school aged children related to their transition to school, the increasing demands of the school curriculum, social groups and the stress that naturally increases for families as school and work commitments grow around this time.

Common mental health challenges faced by older children and teenagers include depression, anxiety, and problem behaviours such as aggression, truanting, impulse control and attention problems, and experimentation with alcohol or other drugs. Teenagers may also experience distressing social challenges, including through social media. While more infrequent, some teenagers experience serious concerns related to eating and body image, self-harm or psychosis.

Assessment and Testing

Ramsay Psychology can provide comprehensive psychometric assessment and testing of a person’s cognitive, psychological, emotional and behavioural functioning. Formal psychometric testing may be needed for clinical treatment planning, educational purposes, work related functional assessment and/or disability diagnoses.