When is it necessary to go to a child psychologist?

BarcelonaIt is usually easy to detect when a child needs to go to the doctor. Fever, rashes, vomiting, wounds... These are obvious symptoms that a boy or girl needs medical attention. It is more difficult to realize when a boy or girl needs psychological attention. The symptoms are not as obvious to most, and, moreover, there is still ignorance and taboo regarding mental health. This puts many parents in doubt about when they should turn to a psychology professional to help their sons or daughters.

According to Noemí Balmaña, a psychologist specializing in child and adolescent neurodevelopment at the Mental Health Department of the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona, one must start from the basis that all children go through developmental stages that require facing growth challenges. And, in most cases, if each child's learning rhythm is respected and they are accompanied with affection and care, the difficulties are overcome. However, sometimes families observe that children or adolescents are not progressing at the expected rate and behaviors or emotions appear that make them suffer or affect their daily life. These are, according to Balmaña, “warning signs” for which it is advisable to consult a psychology professional.

The expert specifies the situations in which it is convenient to make a consultation: delay or alteration in the acquisition of developmental milestones (in speech, psychomotor skills, or the introduction of new foods or textures), strong tantrums with self-aggressive behaviors, problems or sudden emotional changes that interfere with their daily life and relationships with others, behavior problems with persistent defiant behaviors, ritualized behaviors, loss of developmental milestones, serious problems falling asleep, learning problems, or traumatic experiences.

In the case of children, a first step can be to consult the pediatrician to see if they assess that psychological attention is needed. Regarding adolescents, Balmaña recommends listening directly to their concerns. It can also be useful in both cases to talk to the school to collect information on how they behave in an environment external to the family. But the psychologist warns that, especially in the case of adolescents, one must always be prudent and preserve the image they want to project in the school context.

Talk naturally with children

Once it has been decided that we will consult a psychology professional, how should we communicate this to children? Balmaña advises speaking about it naturally, adapting the message to the minor's age and avoiding expressions that might suggest that something is wrong. “We must try to ensure they see it as an opportunity,” she says. Furthermore, she asserts that consulting a professional does not automatically mean that there is a disorder. The professional will gather information from different contexts (parents, school, the children themselves...) and will assess whether it is a transient issue or if a more specific intervention needs to be initiated. If so, the professional's task will be above all to provide tools, both to the child and to the family, to overcome these difficulties.

But, beyond that, Balmaña also makes recommendations to follow at home from early childhood. The psychologist highlights the importance of talking about emotions within the family context. According to her, the child must normalize that conversations do not only take place for positive and fun things. “If they experience this at home, it is most likely that when they have a need they will understand it better,” states Balmaña, who encourages families not to hide emotions and discomforts in front of children. In this sense, she ensures that seeing how parents face discomforts can help many children learn to manage their own.