Referred to a Child Psychologist by school counselor?

Many parent dread the thought of being advised or even suggested to see a child psychiatrist regarding their children. Being referred to a child psychiatrist does not mean that the child is “abnormal”. These stigmas towards psychiatrist still persist due to the lack of awareness about mental health and child psychological problem.

Parents worry about the future of the child, of being ridiculed in the society or of being blamed for bad parenting. The fear of being criticized due the child’s psychological problem is so much that many ignore and deny the existence of it and this only worsens the issue. There are many reasons a child can be referred to a child psychiatrist. And many of these can be resolve via early interventions. Some of these issues are:

• Adjustments difficulties
• Developmental delays in various areas like language and speech.
• Learning difficulties
• Low academic performance due to attention deficit
• Bullying
• Anger out bursts
• Being suddenly inactive in class
• Being frequently absent
• Not being able to make friend or frequently having trouble when working in a group
• Signs of drug abuse
• Indicating issues with family
• Not being able to perform socially

School counselor’s role

A school counselor can help and benefits the child not only with issues within the school camps but also outside. They play an important part in enhancing the child’s academic area as will as their mental well being. When a child is referred to a psychiatrist for a problem a school counselor can also help in various ways to enable the child cope with the difficult and have a positive development. A school counselor can be of great help in the following ways to the child:

• Identify the signs: To help an individual cope with a issue the first step is to rightly identify it at the right time. School counselors are in a better position to let that happen and with the referral an early intervention can be done.
• Awareness: They also play an important role in educating others, both students and teachers and other staff member about the child’s condition. This will help decrease criticism towards the child and will also help creating a supporting environment for the child.
• Special facilities: Assessing the child’s difficulty a school counselor can help provide special services so that the child is comfortable in the school. Such as, if a child has learning difficulty and he/she is a visual learner, the school counselor can suggest and make sure the teacher uses visual aids so that they can also grasp along with other students and not lag behind.
• Counseling: School counselor can provide counseling session once in a week to motivate and help the child. Through the session the child can talk about their issues and the counselor can provide the child with coping and managing techniques. They can also provide crisis intervention, if required.
• Monitoring: Since the school counselor would be meeting the child almost every day and daily interaction with the child they can keep a track of their progress. And intervene when there is no progress or when there is indications that the condition are getting worse.

School counselors can also be of great help to the parents of children with psychological problems:

• Psychoeducation: They can give the right and latest information about the issue. This psychoeducation about the condition of their child would not only enable them to help the child but would also play an important role in bringing down and fighting stigma towards mental health.
• Guidance: They can also guide them as to whom to consult and what would be the next step in helping the child. They can also equip the parents on information on various services they can avail for their child.
• Coping techniques: They can also provide the parents with techniques which they can teach the child to help cope with the problem. With the information provided the parents can monitor the child, help them and make sure that they are on the right track.

Ignoring or denying a referral from the school counselor would only worsen the child’s condition. But with the help of the school counselor, providing right information to the staff members, students and parents, the difficulty can be well managed and resolve at the earliest. For assistance for your child, call us now on +919741476476.