Play and Creative Arts Therapy was originally designed to work primarily with children aged 3-11, however I am also able to use aspects of this work with teens and adults who struggle to verbalise what they’re struggling with.
Everyone has ‘bad days’, but when children have a lot of ‘bad days’ there can be an underlying problem that is making it hard for them to manage everyday life trickiness. Because children under the age of 11 years old don’t have the ability to verbalise what’s going on for them they will show it in other ways. This can often lead them to be sad, disruptive, angry, have trouble concentrating, or unable to self-regulate their behaviour or emotions. These problems can cause disruption to their lives and the lives of those around them.
Some parents and carers often delay seeking help because they worry that they will be blamed for their children’s behaviour. Feeling responsible for a child’s distress or problems is a normal part of caring. If there are changes in your household, such as new additions, separations, divorce or even just more arguing than normal, this affects everyone in the house, but children can’t always express it or process it like adults. The fact that you have the commitment to acknowledge and start addressing the difficulty is a significant part of helping your child.
Leona Tucker 