what does a child psychologist do?

WHAT DOES A CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST DO?

Child psychologists do many and varied jobs.

At Positive Young Minds we work with children, teenagers, parents, teachers, allied health professionals (such as speech therapists and occupational therapists) as well as doctors and paediatricians. We focus on providing you with what you need to help your child function better.

Not all child psychologists work the same way, or do the same thing. Following are some of the things a child psychologist may do:

Some concentrate their abilities on helping children who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many of these will work in multi-discipline clinics where you can access a range of services you may need such as speech therapy and occupational therapy.
Others work primarily with young children and use strategies such as play therapy.
Some work with the whole family, doing family therapy.
Some work in government departments or the not for profit sector..
Some work in schools and help support teachers, run groups, see individual children for counselling and assessments.
Some psychologists will do assessments for dyslexia and other Specific Learning Disorders; as well as a range of other diagnostic assessments.

All psychologists work to help your child function better, it's just that they do it in different settings, using different strategies and serving different needs.

At Positive Young Minds we concentrate on helping you and your child learn about positive mental health strategies that develop skills for life such as resilience, connection, confidence and calm. Read more here about five ways counselling can help your child.

We also support parents, and in particular mums, through The RoadMap to Personal Wellbeing Program for Busy Mums.

WHAT IS POSITIVE YOUNG MINDS?

Positive Young Minds is a boutique mental health business that helps children and adolescents understand and manage their mental health and to investigate, understand and manage difficulties in the school environment.

Through counselling we help children and adolescents from 5-25 with a range of conditions including anxiety, sleep difficulties, stress, and school refusal. We help children with build connection, confidence and calm.

We recognise that parents and guardians are an important part of the process and aim to support and empower parents and guardians

Why? because it’s never too early and never too late to help children and adolescents with mental health.

Whether it be that your child is struggling at school and you have exhausted all your go to strategies; or, whether it has just just become a bit too much and you would love to learn some simple, time efficient, stress management strategies; you can learn positive, practical strategies that will make a difference in your life and that of your child.

MY STORY

I am an independent, private psychologist. I am a registered medicare provider and private health provider.

But I am, most importantly, a mother with three beautiful children who challenge me everyday to be better.

In my downtime I love to read fiction and watch Collingwood (AFL). I also walk, spend too much time on social media, and love catching up with my friends and family.

I came to psychology spasmodically and rather late in life, after a few twists and turns along the way. I kept coming back to the call though to help people improve their mental health - particularly from a preventative and flourishing perspective.

Lately the epidemic of loneliness in our society has caused me to focus more on helping people create connection.

Loneliness is implicated in the prevalence of depression and is confounded by our reliance on technology.

It is seen in the faces of children who are bullied, mothers raising children without community support, older people with no family, and professionals suffering burnout.

I was that young child in the playground bullied and struggling to find a voice and trust myself, the mother isolated at home with a child who wouldn’t sleep and screamed non-stop, the professional without a mentor and without a focus.

.Having grown up in an era where mental health was generally ignored, I have worked hard to find my confidence and reconnect with my authentic self. I am now living my purpose.

There are three main areas I focus on.

Children and Young People
Mums. As a MUM, I know how quickly you can be overwhelmed and lose your confidence and connection with yourself. I help mums find wellbeing strategies that work for them.
Mental health professionals. Many mental health professionals struggle to maintain the level of self-care they require. I provide workshops and coaching around helping them create their own wellbeing plan. I also am the founder of the Victorian Psychologists' Networking Group which is designed to help professionals share their strengths and talents.

Whatever is going on in your life, know that you are not alone.

Kim Dunn, Psychologist
B.A. Grad.Dip. Ed. Psych., M.Psych (Ed & Dev), APS

WHAT DO YOU DO FIRST?

If you are interested in counselling for your child or young person needs counselling, click here
If you or your young person is interested in coaching, click here.

If you are interested in ways to introduce more calm, confidence and connection into your life download my FREE short workbook which contains simple strategies to get you started on reducing overwhelm and increasing calm.

You can also listen and subscribe to my weekly podcast - Creating Connections that Matter. I have included a link to my most popular podcast so far - Making the invisible load visible.

To find out more about The RoadMap to Personal Wellbeing Program for Busy Mums click here.

OR
If you are ready to jump into working with me on using The RoadMap to Personal Wellbeing Program for Busy Mums simply call 0408533515 or email youngminds.psychology@gmail.com.

HOW DO I BOOK?

You can speak to me, Kim Dunn, for all counselling and coaching requirements. Simply call 0408533515 or email youngminds.psychology@gmail.com. You can find out more about fees on the FAQ page.

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