Child psychotherapy

Mental health interventions for children (also known as child psychotherapy) vary with respect to the problem being addressed and to the age and other individual characteristics of the child. Although such interventions share some approaches, treatment methods can be quite different from each other. Mental health interventions for children (also known as child psychotherapy) vary with respect to the problem being addressed and to the age and other individual characteristics of the child. Although such interventions share some approaches, treatment methods can be quite different from each other. Terms describing child treatments may vary from one part of the world to another, with particular differences in the use of the terms 'psychotherapy' and 'psychoanalysis'. For these reasons, readers should take special care to consider definitions of terms in this article. There are many therapeutic beginnings to address mental health concerns among children and adolescents. Some of these approaches are backed by strong scientific evidence, and some are not. Some research suggests that it is the quality of the relationship with the therapist, rather than the particular form of therapeutic intervention, that is the strongest factor in helping change develop. If the normal course of secure attachment between parent and infant is disrupted, parent–infant psychotherapy is a catch-all term to describe psychotherapies that either aim to restore this bond or to work with vulnerable parents to prevent disruption in the first instance. Examples of this kind of therapy include, 'Watch, Wait, Wonder,' and psychoanalytic parent-infant psychotherapy. Many of these techniques require a three-way relationship between the parent, child, and therapist. During the therapy sessions, the parent expresses his or her thoughts and feelings which are based on a combination of factors including: The therapist's role is as an observer and an interpreter of the interaction between the infant and the parent. He might share some of his thoughts about the behavior of the child with the parent and by doing so offering the parent an alternative way of experiencing the child. This technique helps the parent to resolve issues with his or her own infancy-experiences in order to restore secure attachment with the infant. And it helps lower the risk for psychopathological developments of the child in the future. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy with infants, children and adolescents is usually delivered by either someone qualified specifically in psychoanalytic child psychotherapy, or a psychoanalyst who has also undertaken an additional child-focused training. Recent evidence, covering 34 research papers (nine of which were randomized controlled trials) showed psychoanalytic psychotherapy to be particularly effective for children with the following conditions: Furthermore, follow-up research shows that in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, therapeutic improvements continue well beyond the termination of the therapy itself. This has been termed a, 'sleeper effect.' In the UK, psychoanalytic psychotherapy is recommended by NICE as an evidence-based treatment for trauma from sexual abuse and severe depression in adolescents following the IMPACT study