What are some signs that my child
might benefit from counseling? Here are some indicators
that your child might benefit from counseling:
- If your child doesn't want to go
to school
- If your child is moody or angry
or withdrawn
- If your child's teacher has commented
that your child is not working up to his or her potential
- If your child's behavior is interfering
with his or her ability to get along with peers or
siblings
- If you as a parent feel as if
your child is not responding to your parenting methods
What is counseling? Counseling is
forming a helping relationship with your child where
your child can explore thoughts or feelings he or she
might have trouble expressing and where the counselor
can help determine underlying issues that are affecting
or influencing maladaptive behavior that is affecting
your child's ability to succeed.
Is Christian counseling biblical?
I Thessalonians 5:14 encourages us to, "Admonish the
unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and
be patient with everyone." Professional Christian counselors
are trained to employ clinical skills as they use their
God-given talents and gifts for empathy, discernment,
and wisdom.
Do all Life Christian Counseling Network
counselors work with kids? No. When you call our office,
you will be referred to a counselor who received specialized
training in working with children. This training may
include the use of play therapy, it may include experience
working within the school system with children, it may
include courses in child therapy at the graduate level,
or it may include post-graduate seminars or workshops.
My child has ADD, ADHD, or ODD, etc.,
and is taking medication. Isn't that enough? Usually,
no. Often, children have been prescribed medication
without a formal assessment or without counseling to
support behavioral change. Your child's counselor will
investigate whether testing would be helpful. Counseling
can address behavior and attitudes that are interfering
with your child's performance at school and/or home.
Your child's counselor can teach your child better coping
mechanisms and help them learn compensatory behaviors
that will support the medical intervention. Your child's
counselor can also work with you as a parent to help
you develop more effective parenting strategies such
as training you in filial therapy.
If my child is acting out, doesn't
that mean that I have been too lenient as a parent and
simply need to be stricter? God always deals with us
within the context of grace and truth. As parents sometimes
we are good administrators of God's truth and weak ministers
of God's grace. Often this is because we ourselves have
not received sufficient amounts of God's grace. A Christian
counselor can help parents balance this equation in
their parenting.
« return
to faqs
|
