How can I understand what’s happening to my family?
It’s completely normal for a young person’s behaviour to change if they are going through a difficult or emotional time. Problems at school, exam stress, difficulties with friends or family breakdown can all cause confusion and unhappiness which young people often don’t know how to deal with. Often we only know something is wrong because their behaviour becomes troubling or hard to handle.
Focussing solely on the behaviour can sometimes make young people feel even more misunderstood – as if they are the problem when in fact their behavioural change is usually a manifestation of something troubling them at a deeper level.
A trained child and family therapist can help you and your child to make sense of what is going on and find a different way to express and resolve emotional difficulties in the family. Sometimes just one or two sessions can make all the difference and allow your family to start working together again.
Your therapist will recommend either Family Therapy, Child/Adolescent Therapy or a mixture of the two based on your individual circumstances.