What You Need to Know When Counseling Children

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Working with children in a therapy session can present some problems if the child either does not want to be there or does not want to talk about his or her feelings to a stranger. There are strategies a counselor can use to help a child feel comfortable and safe in a counseling session. Building a rapport with a child is of utmost importance if you want the child to open up to you. Making a child feel comfortable and secure is a crucial step in the first few counseling sessions. The child must also understand that you will not share his or her confidential information unless absolutely needed for the child’s safety. There are several techniques that can be used to set a positive atmosphere for the counseling session when having a hard time understanding his or her needs.

Methods of Questioning When Counseling Children

A good counselor will know how to ask questions in such a way that the child will be answering questions about what he or she is feeling instead of asking questions that only require a “yes” or a “no”. Learn to ask questions in the child’s language in a calm and understanding way. Asking how they feel about their situation or about a certain person will likely be successful in opening up a positive and helpful conversation with the child. It will take some time to build a rapport with the child enough to get him or her to open up to you as the counselor.

Assessment and Treatment Plan

A trained child counselor will likely do some testing to determine the course of treatment of a child. The counselor will likely give forms to the parents or caregivers to complete, so the counselor can get an idea of what is going on at home and at school. The counselor will also have knowledge of what assessments to give to the child and will be able to put all the components of the evaluation together to decide on a treatment plan for the child. Since every child is different with a different personality, the counselor’s method of treating one child will differ from treatment of another child. The counselor will also take into consideration the reasons for the child to receive therapy in the first place. Since children come from different backgrounds and negative situations in their lives, the counselor will need to be creative in how to build rapport with the child and decide what techniques she needs to use to work with the child.

Using Art and Activities as a Part of Therapy

Many times, art is useful in gaining insight into their world. A child who does not like verbalizing their feelings may be more likely to express themselves with crayons and paper. The therapist can then interpret the drawings and discuss them with the child using casual conversation. Using paint and a paintbrush may also be an activity the child can use to express feelings.

There are many useful games that can be played when counseling children that will help a child open up to the counselor. Role reversal, playing with toys, puppets, and dolls can be used to make a child comfortable in opening up with the therapist about their feelings. FamilyEducation.com has several ideas of games and tools that can be used to help a child build rapport with and open up to a trained counselor.

The important thing the counselor should know is that the child is not there just to play. The counselor should use these methods as a way to build rapport with a child and get the child comfortable enough to open up and express his or her feelings. If a child does not feel comfortable with his or her counselor, he or she will continue to resist treatment or express his or her feelings. The counselor must be prepared to deal with some difficult situations, especially if they are behavioral and it is crucial to get the child to understand appropriate vs. inappropriate behavior. Anything used in the therapist’s treatment room is there for the purpose of making the child open to express his or her feelings, so treatment will be appropriate and successful with each patient.