If your child has been finding things difficult during the coronavirus pandemic, I can promise you, they are not alone. Here’s how I can help them develop their own coping methods.
Children have had their lives turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic.
They have been told to stay away from school and told to study at home instead. They have been cooped up inside for long periods, while their parents and carers have been dealing with a multitude of problems that have been thrown our way since the start of 2020.
While adults are more adept (sometimes) at sharing how they feel, often, children’s vocabulary and obvious lack of emotional maturity make it difficult for them to do so.
This can lead to all sorts of feelings of anger, fear, anxiety and insecurities among our young population and often is shown through their behaviour.
Children’s health and wellbeing
If your child has been finding things difficult, I can promise you, they are not alone.
As an occupational therapist, working with children aged 8 and upwards, I have had lots of experience of dealing with children who have been struggling and I wanted to explain just how I go about working with them to help their mental health and wellbeing.
First of all, I always offer a complementary phone/Zoom consultation with a parent/carer (and child where appropriate) initially to get to know each other better. If we are all happy, we can go from there.
If your child has never been to see an occupational therapist before, I thought it would be useful to list some of the common reasons why children come to see me.
Feeling worried or scared a lot of the time
Feeling they can’t control their emotions
Struggling to concentrate or complete their school work
Having negative or ‘unhelpful’ thoughts which stop them from doing things they want to
Having ‘angry outbursts’ or ‘temper tantrums’
Changes in behaviour at home/school
Having low self-confidence or self-worth
Finding it hard to make or keep friendships
Experiencing difficulties
There are various ways I can help children who are experiencing these difficulties and they include:
Listening and giving them a place away from home/school where they can talk about what’s happening
Teaching them about emotions and what happens to their bodies/minds
Finding strategies to manage and overcome difficulties
Finding and learning words to explain how they are feeling
Help them find a balance of activities
Find ways to express and understand themselves
Use fun and creative activities
Building a positive therapeutic relationship
Building their confidence and self-value
My aim is to provide short-term and effective therapy sessions which are specifically tailored to each child I see. I offer a welcoming and calm environment where young people can feel valued and respected and want to help them find new ways to manage emotions and feelings to build self-confidence and improve self-esteem.
Positive activities
Helping children is different from helping adults so I create fun, engaging and individually tailored sessions with positive activities. Each young person is empowered to identify their strengths and develop ways to do the activities in daily life that they want to be able to do.
Asking for help can be a daunting step and I am keen to put parents’ minds at ease before they commit their child to any session with me, so please get in touch for an informal chat first of all.
Give me a call on (07426) 083189 or email me at kate@wellbeingtherapysolutions.co.uk
People say to me: “I know you can help me – but how do you do it?” Here’s how…
As an occupational therapist, I often get people saying to me: “I know you can help people…but just how can you help me?”
It’s a perfectly fair question.
For adults who have never sought help from someone who is outside the family or friendship group, it can be daunting to ask.
Who do you go to? How do you describe your feelings? And just who is this person I am going to sit down next to (or see on a computer screen) and trust enough to tell them some very personal things, when I have never even met them before?
Reassuring clients
The first part of my job with any new client is to reassure them and make them feel comfortable with me and the environment we are in.
Because of how important that is, I offer a free initial consultation which is just a ‘hello’ chat on the phone or Zoom so we can get to know a little bit about each other.
After that, if you think this is not for you, that’s fine.
If you think this it is for you, however, we would meet again and begin talking about how you are feeling and what is important to you. We would look at reasons why you might be feeling that way and then work on developing techniques and strategies to help you in your everyday life.
Non-judgemental
Because I am not part of your family or friendship group, I listen to what you have got to say in a totally non-judgemental way. It’s just about you.
I want to offer you a place away from work and home where you can share what is happening. We can identify priorities and set realistic goals and I will work on making every session count and be meaningful to you.
We can identify your strengths and focus on them to build your confidence and self-esteem.
So, here are some of the feelings and experiences that adults and young people have told me about when looking for some help.
Feeling anxious and it’s getting in the way of daily life
Struggling to think clearly or focus/concentrate
Feeling overwhelmed or as though they can’t cope sometimes
Struggling with getting enough or good quality sleep
Feeling as though they aren’t good enough
Feeling often tearful
Having panic attacks
Avoiding difficult situations
Usual coping mechanisms aren’t doing the trick
Having unpleasant thoughts or can’t stop thinking and analysing things
Feelings
One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is seeing people weeks or months after our sessions have ended and hearing them explain how they have found ways to calm, temper and overcome the feelings they had before they came to see me.
It’s lovely to help people by working with them in a relaxed and calm environment to and teach them strategies and techniques that they can put into place to manage anxiety, panic, low moods or other problems they may be dealing with.
I want to give you the tools to help you, help yourself.
So, if any of this resonates with you, give me a bell on (07426) 083189 or email me at kate@wellbeingtherapysolutions.co.uk – I would love to hear from you.
This is the place to find any supplementary resources needed to accompany Wellbeing Therapy Solutions’ courses, webinars, sessions or videos.
A page to find all of Wellbeing Therapy Solutions’ downloadable worksheets and resources to accompany courses, webinars, sessions and videos…
* Self-care for children: A downloadable worksheet for children to use while watching the ‘Self-care for children’ video found at https://youtu.be/UMeqBLgnve8
* Positive self-talk for children: A downloadable worksheet for children to use while watching the ‘Positive Self-talk for children’ video found at: https://youtu.be/qV7TUTynVoQ
Join Kate Jackson for some practical hints and tips to help you deal with the domestic challenges posed by lockdowns and homeschooling
Are you a parent or carer who is struggling to find any clarity or calm during the latest pandemic lockdown?
If so, don’t feel like you are alone.
The latest lockdowns in the UK – and all over the world – have given parents a tremendous amount to deal with.
They are a test for relationships, they put pressure on those working from home and the challenges of keeping children learning and active is a big one.
Webinar
Join Wellbeing Therapy Solutions’ Kate Jackson for this webinar called ‘Finding Clarity and Calm During Lockdown’.
It is mainly aimed at parents, grandparents and carers who are supporting primary-school aged children.
It will focus on hints, tips, and support, helping viewers deal with the various challenges that are being thrown at them, including the issues of homeschooling.
So often it is our thinking around what is happening that causes the distress, rather than what is actually happening.
Notice your thoughts
One of the first things to start finding some calm and clarity, is to start noticing our thoughts.
Ask yourself: Are they helpful? Are they true?
If you can start noticing what you are feeling inside your body, it can be really helpful in realising how we are feeling.
Watch the video to learn more from Kate and put yourself in a better position to tackle the challenges that are being thrown at all of us during a pandemic.
Making key decisions will help protect you from anxiety and fake news
Kate Jackson has advised BBC Radio Leicester listeners to be aware of the amount of news and social media they are consuming during the latest nationwide lockdown.
Appearing on Jimmy Carpenter’s Breakfast Show after being invited onto the programme, Kate said that too much news and social media could lead to stress and anxiety during what is already a very testing time.
“We all need to stay connected so it’s important to know what is going on and for that reason, news channels and social media are important,” said Kate.
“We all need facts – but opinion and speculation can spark stress and anxiety.
Endlessly scrolling
“Perhaps have a look and a bit of a clear out this week and decide what social media and news you want to consume.”
Kate, who was approached by Radio Leicester for her advice having been a guest on the station before added: “I am guilty of endlessly scrolling through my feeds and, as a result, consuming a lot more social media that I intended to and stressing myself out as a consequence! Cutting back on some of the things I follow would limit that consumption.
“It’s also a good idea to set times for consuming news and social media so you do keep up to date with what is going on but don’t allow yourself to take too much opinion and speculation on board.”
