Karen sees children and adolescents who are worried, anxious, sad, depressed or whose behaviour is of concern. Often treatment involves not only seeing the young person concerned, but also seeing either individually or as a group other members of the family. A family based approach acknowledges that the family is a major influence on all aspects of a young person’s development, with a basic therapeutic goal being to bring about change through understanding a young person’s difficulties from multiple perspectives and new ways of seeing, feeling and understanding.
What to Expect
Upon making contact with Karen an initial discussion will take place regarding areas of concern to you and your young person and an appointment for an initial consultation will be made. At this initial consultation it is best if the child is not present and it is preferable that both parents attend. The aim of the initial appointment is for Karen to obtain a detailed and clear understanding of your circumstances. This is done by asking a range of questions about the young person’s current problems and their background, for example their development, education, family and medical history. At the end of this initial consultation, an appointment to meet with the child/young person will be arranged if needed.
Following this, future treatment will be discussed. Length of treatment depends upon individual situations and the complexity and severity of these situations. Usually, six to twelve treatment sessions are recommended, with appointments initially taking place on a weekly to fortnightly basis, with sessions then progressing to a monthly basis.
