Working with kids and young adults

As I generally do not work with kids below a certain age, I tend to not work with those issues more closely associated with younger children. There are exceptions to this; if the parent or carer has exhausted other options, or if the adult or family members are former clients of mine. In these instances, we will discuss options before proceeding.

Please note. There are charities and specialist therapists specifically for children who are the victims of abuse. I will signpost you to these if the nature of the work is outside my remit. 

There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I prefer to approach my work with children in a manner that resembles how I interact with adults. I’ve observed that children aged approximately nine and above typically possess enough maturity to engage with me at a level where authenticity is maintained throughout our interactions. If your child is slightly younger, but are mature for their age and other therapy work has not been successful, we can discuss their situation. For all younger children, I can provide you with a number of reputable hypnotherapists who specialise in working with younger kids.

If the young client is confident and engaged and we are able to establish rapport quickly, change can happen in a very short space of time (depending on the issue obviously). Post session follow ups with young clients are not as straight forward as I will not communicate with them directly (with the odd exception). As such sometimes more structured sessions are necessary to keep progress on track. When parent/carer and the client are all committed to the work, you should notice change very quickly. To mitigate the inability to liaise with the client, I utiilise a number of online forms and exercises where I can monitor submissions and progress without the need for backward and forward communication.

Most of my sessions are conducted online via Zoom, but I do offer the option of face to face appointments either at my office or in Sidcup based therapy rooms. Occasionally, where there are travelling or technical issues, I will visit a client’s home (if they or their carer are housebound, refuse to travel and have poor connectivity etc.). If this is the case, an additional cost for time and travel expenses may be incurred.
Online sessions are ideal and allow children and young adults to feel safe in familiar surroundings. The downsides of working remotely are keeping the client focused and managing who is in the room or eavesdropping (which sometimes discourages the client from opening up). This and other things will be discussed in the free consultation. 

I believe the best work happens when there is genuine rapport and both therapist and client are being open, honest and authentic. This is the same whether working with youngsters or adults. I treat the young client as a person and with the same level of respect as I would anyone else.
That said, I may goof around a little more with the younger clients, to put them at ease and establish that much needed rapport.
I do not assume the role of ‘child-therapist’ and communicate with them as I would anyone else. This normally results in a healthy level of engagement and quick and transformative results.